The Weight of Jade
by TheLastPilot
Summary: Sequel to Won't Tell a Soul: This is a weird box- oh god.
1. Chapter 1

[All you have to say is Transform Me.

-Jade]

All you have to… what?

Nino sat on his bed holding a strange wooden box in one hand and a cryptic note in the other, switching between looking at both and only growing more confused.

"That's kinda… weird," Nino muttered to himself, dropping the note and reaching to open the box.

It lifted easily enough even though it looked so old, swinging open to show… a bracelet it looked like. An etched turtle shell made of jade on a black bracelet, however he was only staring at the contents of the box for half a second before suddenly, something blinding and green swelled from inside.

Nino yelped, shielding his eyes and backing up as he quickly dropped the box but the light got brighter, and when he squinted he could make out a small sphere of light.

His hands were still shielding his face when the light died down and he dropped his hands slightly to stare back at the direction of the random gift to see…

A little… green… turtle?

It was floating in the air, slowly opening its large eyes and shaking its head as if to wake itself, taking a moment to absorb its surrounding before locking eyes with the extremely confused and slightly terrified boy sitting on the bed across from him.

Nino didn't move, staring with wide eyes and unable to get out even a word as the little turtle stretched, smiled, and waved. And then it said hello.

"AAH OH GOD!" Nino yelled, tumbling off his bed and onto the floor in a mess of blankets and pillows, the box the thing came from only saved from falling too by the turtle.

"Wait wait!" it said quickly, struggling to lift and place the box back on the bed and flying after Nino, who was now firmly convinced he was losing his mind. "Don't yell I'm a friend!"

Nino gaped at the small bizarre creature with his mouth open wide, barely registering in time the sound of pounding footsteps down the hall just outside his door.

The small turtle looked over its shoulder and dove into the blankets covering the floor just when the door slammed open with Nino's father behind it.

"Nino are you alright!?" his father said in a panic, his mother close behind looking terrified.

"I- I fell," Nino stammered, still cowering on the floor. "I'd like to be alone please."

"Nino you can't just scream like that we thought something terrible had happened again," his mother sighed out heavily, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry," Nino answered robotically, doing his best to just keep it together. He knew magical crap when he saw it, and magical crap was typically a secret. "I-I'm fine can I be alone please?"

Both of his parents huffed, looking a little miffed at how dismissive he was but complied, the father shutting the door with a click with the turtle reappearing a second later.

"That was quick thinking," the turtle complimented, smiling in a friendly sort of way, "you were right not to say anything."

"Tiny turtle talking why," Nino said in a rush, dragging blankets around him and scooting towards his desk to hide beneath it.

"I know this is very disorienting," the turtle said gently, keeping its distance, "but please don't be afraid. You have no reason to fear me, my name is Wayzz. It's an honor to meet you."

The small turtle bowed its head, a single green antenna poking out from the top of it and bobbing as he did.

Nino didn't say anything right away, mouth opening and closing several times before he just made a few vague confused noises.

Wayzz held his… hands together in front of itself, seeming to understand what Nino was dealing with right then and trying to be compassionate.

"A-" Nino tried again, eyes darting towards the box and back to the turtle, his heart pounding in his chest as he came to a realization. "Are you a… a kwami?"

Nino felt like he had been thrown into a freezing lake when it nodded yes. "I'm sure you already understand most of what I'm prepared to say," it said calmly, it's voice soothing and male sounding, "but I'll repeat it for you if you'd like."

Nino blinked, staring in absolute disbelief at the kwami, and then at the box. With the bracelet.

A miracle stone.

Nino slowly reached into his pocket, eyes focused on Wayzz as he floated calmly a short distance away from him, looking entertained by the fact that he was calling someone.

Nino navigated to Adrien's contact using only peripheral vision, bringing the ringing phone up to his ear and still staring at Wayzz, who nodded in understanding.

"Hello?" Adrien answered after a few short rings, sounding concerned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not being attacked," Nino clarified right off the bat, cowering beneath his desk all the while, "but you need to come over right now."

"What? Is it an emergency? I'm at a photo shoot I can't-"

"Adrien," he said seriously, cutting his friend off. "There is a kwami sitting in my room right now and you need to come here right now."

There was a beat of stunned silence before Adrien said, "Wait what?! Is it- is it hers? Why is it with you!?" Adrien said vaguely, obviously around people.

"No," Nino responded, his voice tense and just on this side of hysteria, "it's a turtle. It's small it- it's a floating tiny turtle and its name is Wayzz and it has a stone with it and I really really need you to be here right now, please, immediately, thank you."

Nino sank deeper into the blanket as he listened to Adrien sputter in shock.

"Nino!" Adrien shouted, in complete disbelief, "D-did you get picked!?"

"WOULD YOU GET OVER HERE PLEASE!?" Nino nearly shouted, trying to keep his parents from barging in but also freaking out. He did not like the implications of that sentence, or that box, or this turtle.

To his surprise Adrien, after initially recovering, was laughing. He was laughing like crazy and clearly running somewhere by the sound of things over the line.

"This is unbelievable are you serious dude!? I'm on my way I'll be there in like three minutes! I don't care if I get busted for ditching I have got to be there right now!"

"Don't sound so hyper dude this is insane!"

"I'll be there as fast as I can, say hi to Wayzz for me!" And the line went dead.

Nino lowered his phone and watched Wayzz carefully as he sat on one of the folds of the comforter he was hiding behind.

"I understand that you're nervous," Wayzz said calmly, "and also confused. If you have any questions-"

"Why are you here!?" Nino blurted out, lowering the blanket a little.

Wayzz crossed his hands calmly, smiling. "You were chosen to be the successor to my master. As a hero his name was Jade Turtle, but now that name will be passed to you as well. You might remember my previous master as the man who confronted Hawkmoth at the Notre Dame."

Nino jolted, recalling vividly the moment Hawkmoth had almost killed him and the old man who arrived to stop him.

"J- wait," Nino said dropping the blanket from his clenched fists and grabbing at his head, "No, no this is crazy. This is crazy! I can't be his- I can't do that man what are you talking about!?"

The kwami smiled, chuckling a little. "You doubt yourself but I was there too, even when your life was threatened you were honorable to your allies. You were strong enough to defy Hawkmoth even without a Miraculous, I can only imagine what you would be capable of with one."

Hearing it stated so plainly forced a startled yelp from his chest again. Miraculous, a miraculous stone.

"This is not happening right now," Nino moaned to himself, closing his eyes tight and shaking his head, "This is not freaking real this is not happening."

"I understand your hesitation," Wayzz said understandingly, "it is an intimidating task to be a miraculous wielder. But you must understand, you were picked for a reason. The Jade Turtle miraculous has not traded hands in almost a hundred and fifty years. Perhaps even longer." Wayzz looked at him with a gentle smile. "Now that the time has come my master has chosen you to succeed him. I have faith in that choice."

Nino didn't say anything at first, way too many things running through his head at once. Even before he got involved in super stuff Nino wasn't sure he would have said yes. Like dude yeah superpowers but he didn't have what it took for that. And now that it was staring him right in the face? A kwami telling him he was chosen?

He had no idea what to do.

"It's a lot," Wayzz said with a quiet laugh, "I know. I completely understand, but you are the chosen miraculous wielder. I have no doubt you will be a great hero, but first you must let go of doubt." The small turtle like creature nodded again, floating a little into the air to look around a bit while Nino dealt with things.

"This is nuts this is not happening," Nino moaned again. Where was Adrien? He really needed a super friend right now.

Wayzz floated out of sight, getting a little more daring and exploring the empty space in the room. Not wanting to lose track of him Nino scooted out from his hiding place, nervously peering around the end of the desk to see Wayzz looking curiously at his computer.

"Uh… little dude?" Nino asked quietly, "Wayzz?"

"Yes? Do you have more questions?"

Nino gulped, looking towards the box before looking back towards the kwami. "Uh, yeah."

Wayzz floated towards him, now sitting on top of the desk and forcing Nino to scoot out towards the center of his room to look at him.

"O-okay," Nino started, his back to the stone so he wouldn't have to look at it. "So you're a kwami. A turtle kwami."

"Correct."

"A-and that- the bracelet. That's your miraculous stone?"

"That's your miraculous stone. But yes, I know what you mean," Wayzz said with a chuckle.

Nino freaked out just a little when he said it like that, but was determined to forge on. "And you want me t- you want me to be the new Jade Turtle?"

"Correct," Wayzz said again, sighing a little when Nino groaned and fell backwards, sprawled out on the floor again.

"What!?" he yelled in disbelief, Wayzz moving to float over his head. "I can't- I cannot do that. I can't even imagine it, I am NOT a hero man I'm not! I- I can't do that!"

"Yes you can," Wayzz said calmly. "You've more than proven yourself. You have everything it takes to be a great hero Nino, I am sure your friends would agree."

Almost as if on que Nino heard the doorbell ring.

He only had a few seconds to wait before he heard Adrien's muffled voice saying, "It's alright thank you I'll just go right in!" and the door opened.

Wayzz didn't bother to hide, knowing full well who it was and turning to greet him with a bow. Adrien shut the door with a click, his mouth dropping open and looking absolutely beside himself with excitement.

"Oh my god," Adrien breathed out, taking a few steps forward and setting down his bag. "He was serious I can't believe this! Hello, you're Wayzz right? I'm Adrien!"

"This is crazy…" Nino was saying to himself as Wayzz greeted him warmly.

"Yes I know who you are though it is nice to properly meet you. If I am not mistaken, there is someone else with you correct?"

And just like that Plagg burst out from Adrien's pocket, arms wide as he exclaimed, "Wayzz!"

"Plagg!" the turtle replied, just as Plagg tackled him and sent them both whirling through the air for a second. "It's been a long time."

"You can say that again!" Plagg cackled, drifting away a little. "Been what, a few centuries? So you're looking at Nino huh? Can't say I'm surprised."

Wayzz chuckled, nodding his head. "Yes though the going is slow. It's only understandable."

"This isn't happening," Nino groaned, grabbing a pillow and laying it over his face. "This isn't real."

"Nino!" Adrien exclaimed above him, still laughing in excitement. "This is amazing! Where is your stone? Have you put it on yet? Dude!"

Nino threw the pillow away from him as he shouted, "No way!" just when Wayzz darted in between them waving his arms at Adrien.

"No no don't rush him!" Wayzz turned around to face Nino again, saying sincerely, "You don't have to put it on yet! There isn't a rush, you can take all the time you need."

Adrien peered around the kwami to stare at Nino in shock, saying, "What are you waiting for man?! This is amazing!"

"I am NOT a superhero!" Nino said indignantly, sitting up and facing his friend. "I can't do this are you insane!?"

"What are you talking about, of course you can! I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!" Adrien disagreed, getting himself excited. "You can join the team! Me, you, and Ladybug! We can do patrols and figure out your powers and- Nino this is GREAT news!' Adrien laughed again, gesturing wildly. "We were so worried about Hawkmoth going after you again, but now you can just turtle bash any baddies who show up! You're totally safe now!"

Nino blinked, his words caught in his throat as he thought over what Adrien had said, his friend still talking but he didn't hear.

The power to protect…

Wasn't this it? Wasn't this what he had asked for?

Wayzz noticed his distraction first, floating down towards Nino and grabbing his attention. When Nino looked up at him Wayzz spoke calmly, audible over Adrien's excited ranting.

"Your strength has already done so much good young master. You guarded secrets more dangerous than any others found on earth, you were given great responsibility and not once did you falter or think to do evil." Wayzz smiled. "I have not had a new wielder in a very long time, but I would be proud to be your kwami," he slowly bowed his head, still smiling, "if you will have me."

Nino stared at Wayzz as he floated there, bowing to him, and Adrien's voice finally faded out as he noticed what was happening. Plagg floated nearby, nodding his head at what he witnessed. Plagg wasn't surprised, not at all.

"I-" Nino stammered, his eyes drifting to the box still on his bed and Adrien sobered up when he realized how nervous Nino really was. "I don't know if I can."

Wayzz lifted his head, Adrien watching in fascinated silence as Wayzz spoke. "I know you can. I have faith in you young master, but I also understand how overwhelming this must be for you. We are in a unique position." Wayzz turned to gesture towards Adrien. "When your friend was chosen he had to adapt immediately, the city was under attack. The same was true for Ladybug. For you however there is no immediate call to action. Ladybug and Cat Noir can continue to handle any attacks that arise, you will not be forced to respond as quickly. You have time to get used to the idea."

Nino huffed, looking around as he tried to pull together the words, his heart still hammering in his chest. "That's a thing too! Ladybug and Cat Noir are fine! They don't need anyone else. Like…. Okay yes one time having another hero around was a good thing but- they're fine! Why am I being picked?"

Wayzz was patient, expression calm. "There is more to wielding the turtle miraculous then fighting. Your role is different to your friends, though your assistance will be necessary in battle I'm certain."

Wayzz looked back towards Adrien, as if expecting backup.

"U-uh yeah!" Adrien said quickly. "There have so many tough battles, some I'm still not sure how we got through. Having someone else there would be amazing, we do need you dude."

"W- I…" Nino hesitated again, breathing deeply. "What other things are there besides fighting akuma?"

Wayzz seemed to take a breath of his own, he and Plagg trading a look between them.

"The turtle miraculous wielder is typically awarded the title of guardian," Wayzz explained, Plagg drifting over to help a little. "Once the guardian is trained they become responsible for the chest containing the seven miraculous stones, and much later on are also responsible for finding and selecting the chosen miraculous wielders, as my previous master has done for well over a hundred years."

"WHAT!?" Adrien and Nino said in unison, Plagg rolling his eyes.

"Oh relax!" the cat sighed, "That isn't anything that would happen any time soon. We're talking five or ten years here, maybe even more. No one is going to hand a box that powerful to a teenage kid." Plagg hesitated, looking away and humming, "Well then again we do give superpowers to teenage kids so… I guess my point doesn't really stand."

Wayzz sighed, shooting a slightly impatient look at Plagg before turning to Nino again. "That isn't something you need to concern yourself with, which is a big responsibility and absolutely not something that needs to be addressed now. My old master will continue the duties of the guardian for as long as he is able, so please don't be worried. He will ask you personally if you would like to pursue training when the time comes."

"What kind of training?" Adrien asked, looking a little blown away just then.

"Well," Wayzz answered slowly, not wanting to intimidate Nino. "The guardian is capable of many things typical miraculous wielders are not. Their training is specialized and they are expected to know everything there is to know about the miraculous stones and their powers. This sort of education includes the care and healing of kwamis that have fallen ill or taken damage, as well as how to discover suitable miraculous wielders. But again, this is not something you need to concern yourself with just yet."

"Woah…" Adrien whispered in shock, looking over to see Nino in much the same state.

And he was expected to be capable of that? How could he possibly have been chosen for something that huge?

"Turtle is a pretty big deal I guess," Plagg said in disinterest, his tone contradicting his statement, "if you like boring stuff like books and ancient healing blahblah." Plagg stuck out his tongue, grinning at Wayzz who looked a little irritated. "Black Cat is a much bigger deal."

Wayzz had a set expression on his face, both Nino and Adrien looking between the kwamis a little nervously.

Wayzz sighed, saying, "The responsibilities of the turtle miraculous might not involve quite as much breaking things as you'd like but-"

"Uuuuh power of absolute destruction? Anyone?" Plagg said with a cackle, loving to get under the shell of his old friend. "Or, I'm sorry, is it your miraculous at the top of the food chain?"

Wayzz huffed, obviously trying to be the more mature one but getting annoyed. He couldn't help saying with a touch of pride, "Oh, you're right of course Plagg. I was just thinking about the last five generations of Jade Turtles that have beaten each one of your Cat Noirs in a fight. But maybe my memory is just getting fuzzy."

Adrien and Nino tensed, shooting each other a 'oh shit' look as Plagg scoffed.

"My miraculous is top rank!" Plagg reiterated, crossing his arms. "And the power you give is cheap! Slowing down my wielders so you can get the easy shot! Hiding in your shell like a coward instead of going for a real fight."

Wayzz looked smug, pleased to rub Plagg's fur the wrong way. It had been a long time.

"I think the term is scardey cat Plagg, not scaredy turtle."

Plagg hissed, tail swishing as he pouted. Wayzz grinned, taking a deep breath to calm himself before addressing Nino again.

"Sorry about him," Wayzz said with a sigh, Plagg hissing again, "I've known him for an eternity. Trust me he's never changed."

Plagg grimaced, muttering, 'Scaredy turtle,' to himself as he flew towards Adrien, burrowing into his pocket and deciding he was done with the reunion.

Nino laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his neck and not sure what to say next when Wayzz made a suggestion.

"Young master," he said gently, floating towards the miraculous but not moving it. "Like I said, you can take as long as you like, but I do have to ask. In order for me to remain out of the miraculous stone my wielder must be wearing it. I know you aren't ready to transform yet and there is no rush, all you have to do is wear it."

Nino didn't move, looking towards Adrien anxiously.

"Come on Nino," Adrien encouraged gently, smiling at him. "This is amazing, I can't believe I get to be a hero with my best friend. I won't push you, you can do this on your own time, but you can do it man."

Nino didn't say anything, looking again towards the box that waited patiently on his bed.

There was a long slow moment where Nino did nothing, doing his best to steady his breathing, thinking through so much at once.

The power to protect… the freedom to not be under constant watch. His friends wouldn't be so terrified for him, and he wouldn't have to be terrified for them. Watching Ladybug run into fights he could only watch from a computer screen had been awful. How many times had he wished he could help her?

Adrien watched with a growing grin as Nino slowly reached over, picking the box up and settling it in his lap. Even though he was clearly hesitant he lifted a small jade bracelet into his hand, and after a deep breath, fastened it to his left wrist.

Nino breathed out a shaky lungful of air as he shut the box and stood to put it away, shaking his head and still muttering, "I can't believe this man."

"Have you told Ladybug yet?" Adrien asked, saying her name a little hesitantly and despite all his own distractions Nino's heart still went out to the guy. A few days had passed and B hadn't addressed the reveal yet.

"No, don't even know how to tell her honestly," Nino laughed nervously. "I called you cause I was freaking out. I wonder what she's gonna say."

"She's probably going to be freaking ecstatic just like me," Adrien assured him, standing up and resolving silently not to make this about him. He could tell that was what Nino was thinking about. "Dude, I'm serious. I'm really excited about this. I'm proud of you. And when you're ready to go for it all you gotta do is call me and I'll run over."

Nino was looking at his bracelet, aware of Wayzz smiling off to the side and turning his wrist over a few times, adjusting to the weight of it. In more ways than one.

"Thanks," he said eventually, looking up at Adrien with genuine gratitude. "I can't even imagine what you must have felt like running into this without someone to talk to about it."

Adrien shrugged, just laughing. "Well I was a lot more eager then you are. Still, I'm here to help."

Both boys looked down when Adrien's phone starting ringing, Adrien grimacing a little. "Uh, yeah looks like they spotted that I was gone."

"Are you going to get in trouble?" Nino asked in genuine concern, but Adrien waved him off immediately.

"Dude don't even think about apologizing. This is huge, I would have been pissed if you hadn't called me."

"Still," Nino said with a sigh, "you should go. You're busted enough as it is."

Adrien nodded, leaning down to collect his bag and striding forward to hug his friend who quickly returned the gesture.

"Don't be nervous Nino," Adrien said as he pulled away, "I've got your back."

"Thanks Adrien," Nino said genuinely, grinning after him as Adrien turned, gave a thumbs up, and left.

The door clicked shut again and Nino was alone in the room with Wayzz once more.

"You are doing very well," Wayzz assured him, drifting closer to him then he previously ever had and was glad to see he didn't shy away. "I am here for you as well young master, I promise you that you have no cause to doubt yourself."

"You can just call me Nino little dude," Nino replied, hesitating for just a second before nervous reaching up towards the kwami.

He held out his open hand for only a second before Wayzz settled into it, the tiny turtle smiling up at him.

"I'm sorry," Nino said with a sigh, reaching up almost without thinking about it to stroke Wayzz's head a bit, worrying only afterword's that it might be weird. It wasn't, he seemed to like it. "I know I'm being lame but like… you're being really cool about this. I appreciate it."

"Of course young-" Wayzz stopped, catching himself and bowing his head again so that the antenna swayed. "Of course Nino. It is an honor to be with you, and I hope that we can be friends."

Nino was a little caught off guard before he smiled, chuckling a little. "Of course we can be friends, I- look I know I'm sorta being a wuss not wanting to transform right away but you've been awesome. We'll uh, be spending a lot of time together so… I promise I'll try not to be too sucky or anything."

Wayzz laughed now, crossing his arms. "You'll be great my friend, I promise."

Nino nodded, lowering his hands so that Wayzz could float up into the air again and rubbing at his neck again a little awkwardly. "Haha so uh… are you hungry or anything? I know Plagg and Tikki eat all the time. What do you like?"

"Oh I'm not picky mast- uh, Nino," he said dismissively, floating around curiously to peer through things. "I'll eat whatever you can gather if I'm able."

"Well do you have a favorite something?" Nino asked, scratching at his head. "Plagg is pretty crazy for cheese, Tikki likes sweets. Do you have something you prefer?"

Wayzz hesitated, holding his feet in the air as he thought before saying, "Well soup I suppose. I love soup, all kinds. It's my favorite."

Nino laughed, liking the idea of having this little guy around.

"Alright then, soup it is."


	2. Chapter 2

Nino spent some time trying to soak in the bizarre image of a small magical turtle happily slurping soup from a bowl, but the longer he looked at it the weirder it just sort of got for him. He was trying to be casual, sitting at his computer blindly scrolling through music playlists, but he kept glancing over at the kwami- well… at _his_ kwami.

Oh god, that still kind of freaked him out.

Nino turned to look again when a lurching movement caught his eye to see Wayzz struggling a little now that the soup level was lower.

"Uh, hey bud hang on," Nino said, looking around before standing. "One sec."

Nino excused himself, jogging into the kitchen and looking through the dish cabinets for a little.

"Uh hey mom?" Nino called out, catching his mother's attention from where she was watching TV. "You know those little sauce things? The ones we have at dinner sometimes? Where are those?"

"Top cabinet next to the large bowls, why?" she offered over her shoulder but he didn't provide a real answer, just muttering under his breath before quickly running off towards his bedroom again. His mother raised an eyebrow but ultimately shrugged and turned away.

Nino entered his bedroom again to find Wayzz nearly falling into the bowl in an attempt to get more soup and Nino couldn't help but chuckle.

"Chill little dude! Hang on I've got this."

Wayzz looked up as Nino set a small shallow bowl like dish beside him, acknowledging that it was probably a much more appropriate size for him. Wayzz hovered back a little, smiling as Nino took the spoon from the soup bowl and filled up the sauce dish.

"Alright, now when you run out ask and I'll fill it again."

"Thank you master!" Wayzz said happily, plopping down on the desk and slurping away. Nino didn't even correct him that time, knowing it would just take the little guy awhile to get used to calling him Nino.

God this was crazy…

"I'm glad you like split pea soup," Nino tried to create conversation, feeling kind of awkward since he didn't know how to have a roommate yet. "No one else in my house was going to eat it probably. Don't even know why we've got it."

Wayzz look a moment to respond, polishing off his tiny dish at an astonishing rate before answering, gesturing with a tiny hand towards the soup so Nino would refill it.

"I like all kinds," he said simply as Nino did as requested, "all types I've ever had. Soups, chowders, stews. I prefer ones without meat, I've never liked meat much. And never turtle soup, never." He frowned, looking a little angry. "Such a horrible thing. Turtles have never done anything to mankind, I don't understand it."

"Uh," Nino stalled, looking away, "yeah that's terrible. I've never had it, never will either so don't worry."

"Appreciated," Wayzz said with a chuckle which Nino returned, leaning back in his chair and blowing out a lungful of air in a sigh. Wayzz looked up as he sipped at his next bowl, sitting up to ask, "Something bothering you?"

Nino didn't answer right away, thinking through his words carefully. "Same thing I've been thinking about since you got here really," he said eventually, gesturing to the bracelet he was now wearing.

Wayzz nodded in understanding. "Though the responsibilities a miraculous entails are great I would hesitate to call it a burden," Wayzz said methodically. "I am sure your friends would refer to it in the same fashion. It is a great struggle, but it is also of great reward. You have a kind heart and do what you can to help the people you care about, your greatest desire is not power for powers sake but power for the sake of others. You see injustice and are disturbed by it, I know that you being granted the power to act will not only benefit you, but all of Paris."

Nino stared at his kwami with a slightly open mouth, Wayzz smiling softly before returning to his meal. Nino looked away, brow furrowed as he thought through what he had said.

"You're pretty smart little man," Nino said after a short stretch of silence. "Thanks…"

Wayzz smiled into his soup as he drank it, but otherwise had no response.

Nino sat there for a moment longer, taking a deep breath and pushing his hat and glasses up a bit so he could rub at his eyes.

"Okay…" he thought aloud, looking around his room as he readjusted his glasses. "Gonna need some extra soup around for you. I can go get that at some point. You'll need a place to sleep too. Got any requests?"

Wayzz finished his second mini bowl, Nino reaching over to refill it without being asked as Wayzz hummed in thought.

"I am not picky. If I have some water to swim in and a warm place to sleep I am very content."

"Oh you like swimming?" Nino said, pausing before saying, "Actually probably should have guessed that. So… water. Hm. Trying to think of how to have water permanently set up instead of just putting you in the sink or something. My parents are home pretty often so like… you might get spotted if we do that. Something in here but uh…"

Nino paused again, glancing down at Wayzz before clearing his throat.

"Uh," Nino aid uncertainly, desperately hoping he wasn't being incredibly rude. "Alright if this is like, totally not cool or something let me know but it just kinda makes sense. But uh… do you just want like, a tank?"

Wayzz finished his third bowl, tilting his head as he looked up at Nino. "A tank?"

"Uh, yeah," Nino tried to explain, making a box gesture of medium size with his hands. "It's a glass thing like this big and usually on one side its filled with water deep enough to swim in, we can get you kinda a big one if you want, and on the other side there is a dry bit of rock or whatever with a heat lamp above it. We could load it up with blankets or little pillows or whatever you want so you can just sleep on the dry warm part and swim in the other end."

Nino rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, "It's usually used for like, real turtles but I'm not trying to be a jerk or-"

"That sounds perfect," Wayzz cut in, flying quickly up into the air to hover in front of Nino's face. "Is that a real thing? What is a heat lamp? Would the water be cold?"

Nino blinked, a little surprised by such enthusiasm but he reached out for his computer mouse and moved to type something in. "We could make the water whatever temperature you wanted dude, some tanks are pretty hardcore. It would be filtered and clean for you and we could like, get you a pet fish or something. Your call."

Nino opened up an image of a pretty nice turtle tank, gesturing to the bright warm spot in the picture. "That bit there is where the heating lamp is pointed, it's basically just a big lightbulb that feels like sunlight. We wouldn't have to make you just sleep on the rock though I could figure out a bed we could put in there."

Wayzz made an 'oooh' type sound as he floated towards the screen, looking it over and clasping his little hands together excitedly before seeming to realize something. "Would that be expensive for you? I wouldn't want-"

"No no little dude don't sweat about money, like don't even think about it," Nino dismissed him instantly. "You're just trying to be cool and stuff and I'm kinda giving you a hard time. I really don't know how to like… _do_ any of this, but I want you to be happy here. I don't want you to feel like you're just stuck with me or something, I'll drop the dough for a sweet tank."

Wayzz looked sort of… touched? He was smiling brightly, his eyes old but kind. "You are too good young master, thank you."

"No problem little man," Nino said easily, smiling at his kwami and feeling… better. More at ease. He hadn't even tackled what having a kwami _meant_ yet but he was happy that he and Wayzz were getting along. He really did like him. "I'm not really allowed out right now, I'm working on that, but once I am me and you can take a trip to the store and you can pick one out as well as whatever stuff you want in it."

Wayzz laughed, his legs curling up towards his chest and swinging him in the air as he did, looking absolutely adorable in that moment. Kwamis in general were pretty cute all around but Wayzz came off as more calm and intelligent. Seeing him laugh happily instantly made Nino smile.

Nino looked back towards his computer, about to look for more specific tank set ups in stores nearby when he got a text, reaching down to pick up his phone and see it was Adrien.

'A- Alright I kind of got in a lot of trouble but it was worth it. How are you and W doing?'

Nino frowned but shook his head, typing out a response as Wayzz floated by his shoulder. "Are you talking to Adrien?"

"Yeah," Nino said as he typed.

"Tell him hello."

Nino smiled at that.

'N- Sorry you got busted bro, we're doing good though. He's really cool, we're just eating and hanging out right now. He says hey.'

Wayzz smiled at the reply, saying "you're pretty cool as well young master," with a smile before floating down for more soup, patiently waiting for Nino to refill it again.

"Thanks dude," Nino laughed, leaning back to be on the computer again and catching sight of the bracelet on his left wrist. He was still for a little, just looking at the small turtle shell design etched into the jade.

This was so… weird and insane and no small bit terrifying but… He looked over at Wayzz, swaying happily as he ate his soup.

Wayzz said he could relax, think things through. There wasn't a rush, and Nino had to admit that he kind of liked having Wayzz there. They had barely met but… he didn't really know. They just got on.

Nino tapped his fingers against his desk, thinking about his situation as Wayzz finished the last of the soup with a satisfied burp, apologizing when he did which just made him laugh. Such a polite little turtle.

"Not really sure how to tell Mari," Nino said after a little. Wayzz hummed.

"Ms. Ladybug. You believe you should tell her as well?"

Nino hesitated, looking down. "Should I not?"

Wayzz shrugged, "No, I believe you can do so safely. While it is never recommended to reveal your identity the bond you and your friends have is built on trust. Marinette is a trustworthy girl, as is your friend Adrien. They make good heroes, as will you. I think we should."

Nino sighed out in relief, really not wanting to keep it from her but not sure how to go about it. Telling Adrien had been easy cause he was freaking out, but he couldn't really leave so… hm.

Nino pulled out his phone, staring at it a little before huffing and saying, "Well just sorta have to go for it I guess."

Nino raised his phone to his ear, listening to it ring as he waited for her to answer a little nervously. When she did he actually jolted.

" _Hey, is everything okay?"_ she asked right away and Nino did the same as he did for Adrien.

"Not being attacked," he clarified, taking a deep breath, "but uh… kind of need you to come over. If you can, like if you're not busy. It's not an emergency or anything but you should come here."

There was a pause before she said in confusion, " _Why? I'm not busy I can probably come but whats up?"_

Nino looked over at Wayzz and then looked down at his bracelet. "You should probably just come here. It's easier to just show you honestly."

" _Uuh, okay?"_ she answered uncertainly but he could hear her walking down some stairs. " _I'll be there in a little."_

"Oh!" Nino said before she could hang up, "This is weird but can you buy some soup please? I'll pay you back."

" _What? Soup? Are you sick or something?"_

"No, no it's weirder then that, but I do need it. Any kind, no meat though. Thanks B!"

Nino hung up before he'd have to explain anything extra, breathing out heavily and leaning back in his desk chair. "I can't tell if this is going to be really funny or really weird."

"Life is usually a combination of both," Wayzz said with a chuckle, flying off to explore again. "I'm sorry to ask, but is there somewhere I can get some water? I just need to wet my shell, it's a little uncomfortable to go without for too long."

"Oh yeah homie hang on," Nino said as he stood, "I'll go get a mixing bowl or something."

"Thank you."

It was about a half hour later when he heard the doorbell ring again, both him and Wayzz looking up towards the door. Wayzz paddled over to the edge of the large mixing bowl filled with water, grabbing on so he could lift his head more.

"Should I be out of sight initially?" Wayzz suggested. "So that you can explain."

Nino pursed his lips, thinking about it as he heard his mom get up and answer the front door. "Mm… yeah I guess. You can just hang out in the bowl she won't see you right away in there. And I can just sort of… bring it up? No clue how she is going to react to be honest so if she yells or something sorry."

"I'll be underwater, call when you need me," Wayzz said simply, smiling at him before diving down and out of sight. Nino didn't have much longer to wait before Marinette walked in, shutting the door behind her and carrying a large bag of several kinds of soup cans.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile of her own, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'you weirdo' as she held out the bag. "I brought your soup."

"Thanks," Nino said with a laugh, standing up and grabbing it but just putting it on his bed, standing there a little awkwardly.

Marinette waited for a little before saying. "Uuh… is everything alright?"

Nino gulped, laughing a little with nerves. "Yeah, yeah it's uh- uuuh…" he sighed, taking a deep breath and pointing both hands forward in a 'here we go' type gesture. "Okay so I've got to explain something. I already told Adrien but uh, I figured you should know too so I'm just going to say it."

"Ooookay?" Marinette said with a chuckle, obviously entertained by how apprehensive he was being but paying attention.

"Alright so…" he hesitated before forging on, "I got a thing, a box yeah? It came like in the mail or whatever and it was for me. My dad gave it to me saying it was like a get well present so I was in my room and I opened it. And there was a box inside, a little octagon box with Chinese writing all over it yeah?"

Marinette nodded slowly, before suddenly the nodding slowed down until she wasn't moving at all, confusion settling on her features.

"Uh so, I opened it. And then this like… ball of light came out? And uh-"

"Oh my god," she interrupted him, eyes growing wide. "Oh my god _what?"_

Nino laughed again awkwardly, adjusting his cap. "Haha uh, you probably already guessed it, yeah but uh… H-hey Wayzz? Buddy?"

Marinette turned when she saw movement off to the side, mouth dropping open with a sharp gasp as a small green turtle like creature flew up into the air from a bowl of water, shaking its head a little to dry itself before waving.

"Hello!" he said with a smile.

Nino looked at Wayzz and then over to Marinette, who was completely frozen. She was _flabbergasted_ , eyes opening even wider as she whispered again, "Oh my _god."_

"Haha, uh nuts yeah? So this is Wayzz he's-"

"A kwami," Marinette whispered in a dazed voice, getting louder as she said, "Are you serious!? D-Did you- oh my GOD."

From Marinette's purse came an excited squeal, before suddenly Tikki burst out into the open happily exclaiming. "Wayzz! Oh my gosh _how are you!?"_

"Tikki!" Wayzz responded with equal enthusiasm, hugging her when she zipped over. "Sorry to get you wet dear, I am just fine! How are you?"

"Oh it's been so long!" Tikki cooed as Marinette looked on, still dumbfounded. "I am great! Have you met Marinette? This is my Marinette she's an amazing Ladybug, oh my god this is so amazing! Is Nino going to be your Jade Turtle now?"

Wayzz chuckled, "Yes, the master said he was getting a little old to keep things up. He decided that Nino would be an excellent replacement and I heartily agree."

"Me too!" Tikki giggled, zipping over to Nino to hug his face and push up his glasses. "I'm so excited! I'm so proud of you Nino you'll be a great hero!"

" _Oh my god!"_ Marinette finally spoke again, hands flying up to her face as she started to dance in place, unable to keep still. "Are you for real? Nino you were _chosen!_ I can't _believe this!"_

"Me neither," he answered honestly with a tense chuckle, "It's kind of really overwhelming to be honest… I haven't even transformed yet it kind of… freaks me out a little."

Whereas Marinette's eyes had been shining just a moment before she suddenly sobered up, pulling her hands away to stare at him with deep compassion. "Oh, oh Nino I understand completely."

He didn't really say anything, just looking away and making a vague noise of acknowledgement.

No one else spoke for a moment, Tikki flying back towards Wayzz so they could give the others privacy.

Marinette bit her lip, trying to figure out what to say.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about my first day as Ladybug?"

There was a small stretch of silence before Nino said, "No."

Marinette stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder to encourage him to look at her. "I was terrified."

Nino's brow furrowed, head tilting just a tad. "What?"

She nodded, "I was scared out of my mind I had never even heard of magic stuff like that before, and when Tikki came out of the box I screamed my head off I thought she was a bug."

Nino huffed, smiling a little even though he still looked confused. Marinette withdrew her hand, sitting down on the bed and gesturing for Nino to sit next to her.

"I was so freaked out, and to be honest I wanted nothing to do with it. I was so scared, I was convinced I wasn't cut out for it that I was only going to make mistakes and get people hurt. I wasn't a hero I was just a klutz. How was I supposed to help anybody?"

Nino sat down next to her, genuinely surprised. "But- you fight crazy stuff every day you take on everything. I- I _can't_ do that."

"That's what I said too," Marinette said quietly. "I've actually never told anyone before but… well I guess I've never had an opportunity to. I tried to give up my Miraculous, I put it in Alya's bag and planned for her to take my place as Ladybug."

"W-what!?" Nino exclaimed, "Are you serious?"

Marinette nodded, looking a little ashamed. "I was terrified…" she admitted, "I made a huge mistake my first time out and I just knew that if I tried to do anything as Ladybug again I was only going to ruin everything. Alya was so tough and brave, she loved heroes I was convinced that she could handle it and that I never could. So I put the earrings back, put the box in her school bag and was just going to leave it at that. But then… Stoneheart attacked again and Alya didn't take her bag with her when she left. I knew Ladybug needed to be out there but I _couldn't_ be her, so I ran after her."

Nino was quiet, looking down at the ground and trying to gather the words. Finally he asked, "What changed?"

"Alya was in danger, the whole city was in danger. She was pinned against the wall and Cat Noir, who I had only met that day as well, was being taken away. He needed me, they both did everyone did. I guess it's hard to explain but…" she thought through the words slowly, trying to find the right way to say it. "I guess what makes us heroes is that when people need us and the city calls out, we answer. I was so scared, but I knew in that second that I was the only one who could protect those people. When you have the power to protect, it's the heroes who use it." She looked at Nino as he lifted his face to meet her gaze and spoke seriously and with complete conviction. "It's heroes who rise to answer the people, and I think that's why you were chosen Nino. I was shocked at first but… I'm really not surprised. You _are_ a hero, I know you can be. You get scared, I do too but you do good things anyways because you know the people around you need you. Do you really think anyone else in our class could have just punched an akuma and run? You were scared but you engaged because you knew that Cat and I needed you and everyone else too. That makes you a hero."

Nino didn't speak, he wasn't sure he could. He just stared at her, lost in how utterly sincere she was. Slowly Nino looked over at the kwamis floating nearby and when he did they both smiled, Wayzz bowing his head respectfully.

"I- … I'm not sure… how…"

"It's okay," Marinette said gently, laying a hand on his back. "It's crazy I know, but you have me and Cat Noir and Wayzz now too. You're not alone Nino, and I know you can do it. Even if it scares you."

Silence fell in the room and Nino looked away, overwhelmed. No one rushed him to speak and he did his best to steady himself. He had always seen Ladybug as so strong, and he just respected her more when he found out who she really was. She was human, a person who made mistakes and got scared. Adrien always seemed like he had such a handle on things but… he got scared too. Both of the people he knew and respected as superheroes were friends of his… normal people, just like him.

"Thank you…" he said eventually, voice somewhat hoarse as he lifted his right hand to lay it over his bracelet. "I'm going to do my best… I promise."

"So you'll do it then?" Wayzz asked, Nino turning towards him and seeing his hopeful expression. "You'll be Jade Turtle?"

Nino was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath, smiling slightly at his kwami.

"Yeah."


	3. Chapter 3

Nino decided that he was going to leave at 1:00 AM. No one was awake at that time, at least not a lot of people.

It was 12:55 as Nino paced in his room, heart thumping in his chest and his eyes screwed shut, knowing the length of his room by heart and always turning at exactly the right time.

"Nino?" Wayzz said quietly, floating in his bowl of water with a concerned frown. "You don't have to do this now, you're pushing yourself when you don't need to."

"I know," Nino answered quickly, stopping in his frantic walking to check the time again.

12:56.

"You have time," Wayzz reminded him gently, disliking how nervous Nino seemed to be. "We can do this later."

"The longer I wait the more unsure I'm going to get…" Nino said quietly, trying to take long even breaths. "I can do this I just… need to go for it."

Wayzz was quiet for a while more, another minute ticking by in silence as Nino tried to calm himself.

"I'm proud of you," Wayzz said earnestly, still looking concerned, "but are you really sure you don't want them there? They'd be there in a second if you called, they'll help you adjust."

Nino shook his head, taking off his hat and running his hand through his short hair. "If I fall off a building I'd rather not have an audience, even if they are my friends. If I get more adjusted I said I'd call them by 2:00."

There was a small space of silence before Wayzz flew from the bowl and hovered in front of Nino, water slowly dripping to the floor but no one commenting on it.

"Would you be more comfortable knowing what to expect?" Wayzz asked, tilting his head. "I've explained some basic things but I could go into more detail."

Nino turned and looked at the clock.

"Yeah… tell me on the way to the roof."

Wayzz was silent until Nino had successfully snuck past his father who had fallen asleep on guard duty and out the front door, only starting his explanation once they were well away from the apartment.

"You will have a shield, I'm sure you know," Wayzz began, "it's capable of many things. It can grow and shrink to your various needs but there is a limit to how large it will go, as well as how small. It will never shrink smaller than a dinner plate, and never grown larger than the face of a bus."

"Okay…" Nino said quietly to show he was listening, hating that he was deliberately taking the stairs a bit slower because he was afraid.

"Your communicator is not on the shield, but rather the miraculous itself. That will be easier to just mess with yourself."

"How does getting around work?"

Wayzz didn't reply, not completely sure how to explain. "We can practice on the rooftop before going anywhere else. I'll talk you through once we've transformed."

Nino felt a certain kind of electricity run over his skin at the word, the boy shutting his eyes again for a moment and reminding himself that he had been chosen. He could do it.

It didn't take them long to reach the roof, Wayzz whispering quiet words of encouragement the whole way up and only falling silent when Nino opened the door and stepped out onto the gravel.

This rooftop had held some surprisingly important moments in Nino's life…

He really never thought one of them would be something like this.

Nino took a deep breath, his hands shaking in tightly balled fists as he reminded himself of what he had spent the last five hours doing. You've got to step up man… you've got to step up. Stop being a coward and just… _say it._

W-Wayzz…" Nino tried, swallowing heavily and looking down at the ground. He took a deep breath before he heard a small voice say, 'hey'.

Nino looked over as Wayzz floated out into the open, smiling at him gently with thousands years visible in his eyes.

"Inside you there is great power. Our miraculous will only help you see that for yourself, as your friends already have." Wayzz bowed his head, saying "So strive forward for yourself as well young master. In time you will see the greatness we do."

Nino was stunned, looking down at the small bowing turtle and felt something akin to a bright spark of affection in his chest.

This little guy had so much faith in a coward who couldn't even say three words.

Nino stopped, closing his eyes and focusing on that spark in his chest, feeling the warmth from it and forcing himself to breathe slowly, breathing life into the spark in hopes of making a fire.

His fists loosened slightly and Nino opened his eyes, waiting until his hands stopped shaking, Wayzz smiling all the while.

He wasn't a coward. Strive forward for yourself as well… Wayzz was right, something Nino was finding to be typically true. He was worrying about what his friends would think and what Paris would think and of everything else. The only thing he could think of right then however… was that he didn't want to think of himself as a coward.

"Okay…" Nino said eventually, Wayzz straightening himself in the air and preparing himself with a look of pride on his face.

Then Nino finally said, "Wayzz, Transform Me!"

The effect of the words was instant, Nino taking an automatic step back in shock as the kwami blurred and zoomed forward with blinding speed, phasing into the bracelet on his wrist and vanishing from sight, leaving a brightly glowing jade shell in its place.

Nino couldn't help how much he tensed, his heart racing as he watched in happen. So much of it went unseen, and it was so fast and… bright. The light was deep green, starting from the bracelet and shooting over his arms like a flame eating through tissue paper. Nino stumbled as his shoes changed, the padding of them different and the ends feeling strange, his peripheral vison getting cut out as a hood formed over his hair, his hat vanishing from existence along with everything else he had been wearing. Even his glasses vanished, instead replaced with something equally as clear but deeper, like goggles. Finally there was a weight that settled on his back and the light faded, Nino struggling to regain his balance and drag in ragged breaths though he hadn't moved more than a step.

"W-Wayzz?" Nino tried, looking down at his gloved hands and struggling to see the details clearly in the dark- oh. Oh not darkness what?

Nino blinked, shaking his head as the goggles flickered and changed, becoming something almost like night vision to adjust for the lack of light but also preserving some of the natural color instead of tinting everything green.

"Woah," Nino said aloud, looking around with his suddenly enhanced view. "That's pretty rad…"

 _'There is also a stat readout to keep track of your allies. It is fairly limited but has its uses.'_

"Ah!" Nino shouted in shock, hands flashing to his head and pressing the hood against his hair. "Holy crap Wayzz you talked right into my brain that freaked me out."

He heard Wayzz chuckle, looking around and confirming that yeah, Wayzz was definitely talking into his head.

' _Sorry friend,'_ Wayzz said without sounding terribly sorry, ' _But this is how we can communicate. I should warn you, the miraculous enhances your body so while you are like this your vision is repaired and glasses are unnecessary, you might even find it improve outside of the transformation, however the mask beneath your goggles is not as magically protected as your goggles are, so I recommend not removing them.'_

"Uh," Nino stammered, straightening up and inhaling through his nose, "Okay. Goggles on that's cool. Not really a mirror up here… Hope I don't look stupid."

Wayzz scoffed, _'My Jades are always the sharpest on the field in my opinion.'_

"Hey don't take it personally," Nino actually laughed, the initial shock of transforming starting to fade a little. He walked around a bit, adjusting to the difference in his shoes and finding them sort of two toed like a ninja turtle. He was down with that. He was also sort of surprised to feel how strong his legs suddenly felt, like the difference was absolutely noticeable even just walking around. He wondered how far he could jump.

"Okay so, shield," Nino said, trying to run through a checklist of stuff to learn. "Explain the thing."

Nino reached back, finding the shield easier to grip and pull forward then he would have though, and also much lighter than he had expected.

' _There is not too much to explain in execution'_ Wayzz said simply, ' _the shield reacts to you. If you wish for it to grow it will do so, even when it is away from you. If you want it to shrink it will. Try.'_

That sounded sort of vague and unhelpful but Nino just shook his head, reaching up to settle the hood around his shoulders before thinking.

Grow.

He jolted a little when it listened, the shield shifting on his arm and increasing in size.

"Woah," he said aloud, "okay that's pretty rad too."

He messed with it a bit, seeing how fast he could get it from one size to another and was pleased with the results. The longer he practiced the easier it got, but the going was still slow.

"OW," Nino barked out when he made it grow too fast, cracking himself in the nose as a result. "Crap, ugh."

' _You'll get used to it,'_ Wayzz chuckled again. ' _Ready to move on?'_

"Yeah," Nino replied hesitantly, shaking his head to remind himself of his conviction. Not a coward.

' _Throw the shield to the ground,'_ Wayzz commanded gently.

Nino looked at his turtle shell shield and sort of wondered how to do that considering he wasn't even totally positive it was attached to his arm, but he grabbed it with the intention of throwing it down and it obeyed. Magic, he supposed.

"Why did I throw my new shield?" Nino asked, hands on his hips as he looked down at its shallow curved shape rocking gently on its back.

' _Step on it,'_ Wayzz instructed, ' _One foot on the edge closest to you, then the next on the farthest end. It will lift slightly so keep your balance.'_

"Lift?" Nino said aloud, putting down first his left foot and then striding forward to counter his weight with the right foot on the farthest edge. The shift of weight from one edge to the other made it rock with his, Nino yelping a bit as its rocking became suddenly less stable but more fluid like it wasn't on solid… ground.

It was hovering.

Only a little but he could tell, struggling to keep him balance like standing on a boogey board in a swimming pool.

"Eh, AH, ah, woah," Nino narrated aloud as he swayed a bit, crouching a bit to lower his center of gravity before slowly standing back up. "Ookay woah, hard to stand on."

' _Balance out, and then once you're ready shift your weight in the direction you want to go. It will coast forward. You can cancel out the motion by balancing yourself in the middle again.'_

Nino waited until he could stand without having to crouch at all before doing as he was told, leaning forward a little to- woAH woah. Nino pulled back, the shell darting forward way faster than he was comfortable with. It was totally bizarre it was like snowboarding if the snow shifted as fast as sand. Sand boarding, but on air and on a turtle shell.

"Eeeah okay," Nino said in a slight panic, struggling to turn the thing and doing a small donut. "Geeze this is sorta hard to get used to."

' _Once you are used to it though it can be very fast,'_ Wayzz encouraged him. ' _You have minor control over how it takes curves and such, you will grow accustomed to it. With practice it will be second nature.'_

"Okay…" Nino said, unconvinced but trying to be cooperative. He leaned forward less this time, coasting forward at a gentle speed and leaning to the left but still slightly forward, curving slowly. Out of curiosity he lifted a majority of his weight away from his back foot and towards the front, turning as if on the ball of his heel and dragging the lighter of the two feet to the side.

Nino cheered in victory when the shield performed a drifting turn like he had been going for, building up a little more speed and trying it again. He turned a little too fast and nearly pitched over, but he managed to right himself before getting a face full of gravel.

"Okay, I think I get the basics of that," Nino announced relatively calmly. He was feeling a little better about this.

' _Ready to move on?'_

"Yeah let's do it."

' _Alright then,'_ Wayzz said smoothly, ' _jump off the building.'_

…

…

"Wayzz," Nino said evenly, his face perfectly neutral, "gonna need more baby steps then that buddy."

' _You have grasped the basics of moving, it is as simple as moving towards the edge and not stopping.'_

 **"I get the concept,"** Nino explained tensely, "I know how jumping off buildings works. That is not the issue here."

' _I understand your hesitance-'_

"I don't think you do."

' _But this is vital for navigating the city. The streets can get clogged with people and cars, it is safer to travel by rooftop. Traveling by rooftop typically entails jumping off buildings.'_

"Weirdly enough that doesn't make me feel better."

Wayzz sighed but Nino was unmoved, continuing to putt around the rooftop happily ignoring the edges.

' _Young master you have the miraculous, you have your shield and it is your greatest weapon. Have confidence. There is an alleyway directly next to this building, the next rooftop is no more than six feet away. We will start there, one roof to the next, then handle larger jumps and descending.'_

Nino didn't speak at first, looking over at the building he was talking about. He centered himself and stopped moving, allowing himself a dramatic groan. "This is so stupid… this is so **stupid**."

' _Build up speed, and then jump. The shield will go with you and your momentum will continue when you land so either prepare to stop or commit to the movement and jump to the next building.'_

Nino just stood there for a second, closing his eyes right and whispering, "Stupid, stupid, this is so stupid."

He backed up though, pausing on one end of the building facing the other. Because he wasn't a coward… didn't stop his palms from sweating though.

He could do six feet.

Nino leaned forward, heavily now, balancing himself as it moved forward with greater speed. It took shutting down every instinct he had to keep going, moving faster until the edge was beneath him and he leapt.

He _soared_ over the gap, six feet being absolutely nothing. He cleared half the building before he had even landed. He let out an exhilarated laugh at his victory before it occurred to him that he didn't have enough room to stop.

"Woah," Nino said aloud, "WOAH."

' _Commit to the movement!'_ Wayzz said hastily, urging Nino forward, not that he had much choice. ' _Jump again!'_

There was nothing else he could do, he had to the edge of the next building appeared before he could even bail. So he jumped again, this time putting even more power into his legs.

There wasn't another building after the one he had landed on, there was a street that was a gorge in comparison to the crack he had skipped.

He couldn't help it, honest, the screaming. He was very high in the air on a turtle shell and under a lot of stress.

Nino struggled to keep the shell centered on his feet as he cleared the street, crashing too hard down on the next building and throwing himself clear. He and the shell separated, one clattering down the roof and into the street while he tumbled and threatened to fall on the other side. He screamed in fright as he fought to grab a the roof tiles, only just grabbing the edge before he plummet off the two story fall, hanging by his fingertips.

He clawed his way up, gasping for breath and distancing himself from the edge, heart threatening to burst.

' _You're alright!'_ Wayzz was telling him, ' _It's okay Nino you aren't hurt at all. It might have been scary but a fall like that could never damage you. The miraculous protects you_ _ **I'm**_ _protecting you.'_

Nino focused on the words, his hands shaking as he stayed on the roof on all fours, not trusting his legs to support him just yet. He swallowed, zeroing in on Wayzz's calm voice and trying to breathe normally.

' **I'm a superhero damn it'** he thought to himself, **'I'm a superhero, a real one. I don't know what the hell I'm doing yet but you can't just freak out and cry like a kid who scraped his knee.** ** _Get up_** **try again.'**

Despite the strength of his words he didn't move right away, allowing himself another minute before he stood up again.

"Lost my shield," he said hoarsely, shaking his head and trying to focus. "Gotta get it."

' _For short distances you can call it back to you, or at least influence it in your direction. Your main form of attacking is throwing the shield and shield bashing to disorient enemies. It fell down the side, I'm not sure if you can get it to you from a dead stop.'_

"Alright… I'll just go get it then. I can just like… jump off right? I see Ladybug and Cat Noir jump from higher and land on their feet without breaking anything. Can I do that?"

' _Yes, give it a try. More things are possible on instinct then you might imagine.'_

Nino sighed, really hoping that was true as he walked towards the edge. When he looked down at the two story drop he honestly wasn't even phased, falling from an apartment complex had already been way worse so whatever.

He stepped off, feeling far less indifferent when he was actually falling but landing with a thud, no pain to be had and balance maintained.

"Alright, falling is covered," he said sarcastically, "get that squared away. Next we'll be working on dying and bodily harm."

 _'Oh don't be dramatic, you're doing fine,'_ Wayzz said with a chuckle.

Nino looked around a little, spotting his shield laying on the sidewalk a short distance away and strolling towards it, freezing when he caught movement to his right.

He turned quickly, ready to run or fight or whatever he need to do when he tensed up, totally stunned.

It was a man, tall and strong looking, he walked tall and straight with his head held high, his stride slowing down from its casual stroll to a calculating stillness. A dark green hood was loose around his shoulders, short brown hair tousled and wind blow and his entire body covered protectively in a green body suit, a majority a dark green accented with lighter greens and a few muddles browns.

What caught him most were the goggles, tinted a shining kind of green shielding confused golden eyes surrounded by a dark green mask.

It was him.

"Wow…"

It just slipped out, the word making even his reflection seem more boy like but he still had that image in his head. Someone strong and powerful and confident.

A superhero.

Nino stared at his reflection a little while longer, finally shaking his head and steadying himself. He wasn't going to be a hero for anybody if he didn't get things together. He had a lot of practice left to get in.

* * *

A few people blinked and gasped, staring out their windows at an unreasonable hour of night as they saw someone coasting through the streets or over the rooftops. A few would claim the next day they saw a man clad in green leap straight from the ground on some kind of board, landing effortlessly on top of a building. A few more would claim, no they _swear_ that they saw someone with a _mask_ wandering the city. He wasn't causing trouble or causing any harm, he was just wandering the city. Someone might even say they saw Cat Noir and Ladybug with them.

This was true but not until a decent way into the night, Nino breaking his promise both to himself and to them and waiting until it was almost 3:00 AM to call. The first he called was Cat Noir.

Nino was sat on a random balcony with a view of an unrented hotel room, sitting on the railing and adjusting to the height. He lifted his left wrist, touching his miraculous gently as he had practiced several minutes beforehand and blinking at the gently glowing holograph like interface projected above it. It was like a magic apple watch, but cooler and magic.

Their numbers were already in it, maybe a leftover from the previous wielder as well as a few grayed out untouchable contacts. Nino took a second to figure it out before he could hear it ring, waiting to see if it would even go through.

The answer was almost instant.

" _Hellwooooooooooaaaaah,"_ Cat's voice greeted him, the masked cat's jaw dropping and Nino assumed the video call went both ways, surprisingly in color and not tinted green like he expected. His eyes were shining and his entire face lit up as he said, " _Woah dude you look awesome!"_

"Thanks," Nino said through a laugh. "Did I wake you up or were you waiting?"

" _Waiting, if you didn't call in the next thirty minutes I was going to go hunt you down,"_ Cat Noir answered, the background blurred as if he was running somewhere. " _Where are you!? We're meeting up right? Wanna meet at the spot on the Eiffel Tower?"_

Nino hesitated, saying, "Uuuuh no, no yeah heights are not a super achievable thing. Well I mean they are, and I could climb but I don't want to. I'm more of a landlocked guy but rooves are cool."

 _"Alright cool, cool that's fine. Meet me at the Trocodero then. You calling Lady?"_

 _"_ Yeah, I'll have her meet us there or uh," Nino paused, "would that be weird for you guys?"

Cat Noir didn't answer right away, a little sobered up but not much. " _No, or least I won't make it that way. This is for you, even if it's weird between us we will pull it together."_

"I appreciate it," Nino said earnestly. "Meet you there."

The call ended and he took a second to think, lips pursed before he called the other half of the duo. This was… bad. Uncomfortable. This wasn't the way things were meant to be for them.

She answered.

" _Hey you called!"_ she said first before reacting, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' before she squealed, " _You look totally awesome!"_

He snickered at that. "Thanks. Me and Cat are meeting up at the Trocodero, we want you to come too," he started, but being serious when he said, "But is that going to be weird for you? You've been avoiding him."

Ladybug blanched, taken by surprise and looking a little flustered. " _I- I haven't been avoiding him we've been busy-"_

"Keeping me safe," Nino finished for her, gesturing to himself as he said, "Taken care of. Situation locked down. Stop stalling."

" _Where is this coming from?"_ she shot back, her embarrassment making her irritable. " _This is about you and your thing this isn't about-"_

"Do you care about him or not B?" Nino said ruthlessly, gritting his teeth at how caught out she looked. This felt like crap but… he kept hearing the slight drop in Adrien's voice, kept reliving every insecure message and glance to the side. He put himself out there and had gotten nothing back.

" _I- this isn't what this is about!"_ she said tensely, her face red and she looked kind of angry at him, " _Stop putting me on the spot, I'm thinking it through okay… I-"_

"I am his best friend Marinette," Nino confronted her, ripping the mask away with her name, "he thinks you hate him now. He won't say it but he thinks him being Cat Noir is the thing that took this all away from him, how the hell do you think you guys can just go on being partners if he blames Cat Noir for losing his chance with someone he genuinely cares about, as a friend and as something more. How can you just cold shoulder him like that?"

He didn't realize he had been mad. He was frustrated yeah, exasperated but he could see it, the slight shift in Cat Noir's shoulders over the video call. And he hated the way she looked right now, so embarrassed and upset. He knew it was because of him… but he also knew it was because of this. The rift that had happened between two people who were meant to represent two halves of one thing.

" _I- just shut up!"_ she snapped, looking like she was going to cry, _"Stop it! Don't you think I've obsessed about this enough on my own? There is nothing you can say to me that's worse then what I've said to myself."_

 _"_ Is he right?" Nino pushed, hating every second of it. He was hurting her, he was hurting his friend. He hated it.

But he was trying to help her.

" _No!"_ she shouted back, her backdrop the sky, she was somewhere out in the city. _"I don't hate him_ _I could never hate him, he's done nothing wrong_ _ **I'm**_ _the coward it's me-"_

"What is stopping you Spots?" he said compassionately, genuine emotion in his words and it sounded almost like pleading.

" _How can I tell him I'm just me!?"_ she screamed, and he saw it. Her tears caught the flash of moonlight and his heart felt hollow. " _How can I go back there and play video games like nothing happened when I know he was my best friend and the person I love and know that for him all he gets is a mask and_ _ **me."**_

When he spoke again it was calmly, and for a second his voice felt a little… fuller. Older.

"You are who he loves Marinette," he said with power, his voice saddened. "Adrien loves you. Let him know that you're the person he loves. Tell him it's you, meet him halfway. He's never loved a mask, never, and if you sat through that whole night with him and really thought the only reason he liked you was because you were Ladybug then you've learned nothing about him, and it's your feelings that are fake."

Silence.

And then she hung up.

Nino stood there for a moment more before he sighed deeply, turning off the screen and leaning his head down in his hands.

"That was stupid," he muttered to himself. "What was I trying to accomplish? That was impulsive and… ugh."

' _Anger often acts quicker then reason,'_ Wayzz's voice gently spoke to him, calm and unjudging. ' _In your sense of injustice you lost your ability to be impartial. When you stand in such an important position between two people you cannot tip the scale, or one will fall before you can remember that you have two friends in need.'_

Nino didn't reply right away, guilt seeping in. "I just wanted her to get it… she's really hurting him with this stupid game, I'm the one who put him into this-"

' _You give yourself too much credit,'_ Wayzz contradicted him. ' _This match is something that would have happened with or without your involvement, but this is a unique circumstance you have created. Their relationship is their own Nino, you can't involve yourself further.'_

Nino didn't move or say anything at all.

He was so worried about screwing things up as Jade Turtle he never expected the big fumble to come from himself.

"Nice going Alfred…" Nino said to himself quietly, feeling heavy. "You chewed out on of your best friends and probably ruined any chance of them ever…"

His shoulders bowed. "Wayzz I made a big mistake, I got mad I just- I shouldn't have said anything it's not my business but I felt _responsible_ for them working things out, I can't fix this one."

Wayzz was quiet for a moment, humming to himself. ' _You should go meet your friends,'_ he said eventually. ' _They'll be waiting for you now.'_

"Friend…" Nino corrected him, standing on the outside edge of the railing and lifting his shield into his hand.

Wayzz hummed again, but this time the sound was… amused. ' _You would be surprised Nino how often people see the anger of others as a personification of their anger at themselves. As you have been in several stages of this event, so are you now. You are a catalyst for what they've always needed to accomplish. You remind them of why they love each other, and their love will flourish.'_

With that Wayzz fell silent, leaving Nino to drop from the balcony and coast into the city, zipping quickly through the near abandoned streets with a heavy mind. He didn't know what he could tell Adrien, how would he even explain it… he thought maybe just _making_ her see it would fix it but…

He kept going.

It took Nino about an additional ten minutes past his three or four minute extended stay on the balcony to reach the Trocodero, admittedly stalling a little. He sighed heavily as he arrived, stepping off his shield and kicking it up into his hands to set on his back when Wayzz said, ' _Wait.'_

"What?" Nino asked, pausing as asked.

' _Look ahead,'_ Wayzz said with what sounded like a smile in his voice, ' _and see the future.'_

Nino stopped, looking forward out towards the steps of the Trocodero where he and his friends had spent a lot of time for one reason or another. It always looked weird to see it so empty, but it wasn't really. Not completely.

In the open flat track under the looming visage of the Eiffel tower was Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Her face was bowed, pressed into his chest as he hugged her, and even from this distance Nino could tell he was crying. She had her arms wrapped around his chest, shoulders shaking as she tried to speak but he kept shushing her. One time he went so far as to place a hand over her mouth, shaking his head and taking a deep breath.

' _Seems important,'_ Wayzz said, obviously hinting that they should move closer.

Nino got as close as he could, the words becoming clearer as he approached.

"-how I want this to happen, not like this. No, stop don't say it listen to me. Listen. This is important to you and _you_ are important to me. I don't want you to tell me who you are because I told you and you feel like you have to. I want you to _want_ me to know. And once you do then tell me, and I'll find your house and I'll take you to dinner but until then just… please." Cat's face bowed as she looked up, their foreheads touching. "I want to do this right… Please don't cry."

Nino didn't walk any closer, frozen to the spot and watching as his best friend held the girl he cared so much about.

He kneeled down, ducking behind a planter and sitting on the ground, confused and conflicted.

' _Do you see Nino?'_ Wayzz said to him gently. ' _Do not lose the lesson you learned, it is a good one. If you let anger override reason you will only hurt those you care about, regardless of your good intentions. You acted impulsively, and in many other circumstances the fallout would have been on your shoulders. But there is something uniquely true about pairs such as this.'_

"What do you mean?" he said quietly.

' _There is push and pull and change,'_ Wayzz said calmly, his voice methodical, ' _but some things are fact. And very very rarely, there are born two people who are_ _ **each other's**_ _fact. The fact of their existence and all that happens within it. Though factors may change facts do not. You made a mistake, yes. But the thing about pairs like that,'_ Wayzz said with a laugh. ' _You couldn't keep them apart if you tried.'_


	4. Chapter 4

Nino didn't approach right away, he wasn't even sure if he should at all. Instead he just stood, visible but waiting in the wings while his two friends spoke in hushed voices he couldn't hear. Shouldn't hear anyways… wasn't his business.

It was Cat who saw him first, looking over Ladybug's shoulder as he held her and bending down to whisper something, Ladybug turning around to look herself.

Nino froze, instinctively looking away even though he couldn't hide. No one made a move or said anything at first.

' _You owe her an apology,'_ Wayzz said simply, allowing Nino to decide what to make of that himself. He was glad when Nino chose to walk forward.

"B…" he said quietly, still not looking at her, rubbing at his neck with gloved hands. "I- I'm a jerk. I snapped at you and it was really uncool, I didn't mean to upset you… It's not my business and I stuck my nose in and I-…" he sighed, looking up and flinching to see that she had separated from Cat, silently walking towards him until she was only a few feet away. "I'm sorry," he said eventually, the words heavy as he looked into her eyes, red and puffy from crying. "I'm really sorry… I'm an assh-"

Nino gasped and tensed when she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him tightly, her hands wrapping just under where the shield was fastened and pulling him against her.

Nino was stiff, shocked and unsure but he returned the gesture, looking passed Ladybug to see Cat Noir standing a respectful distance away, smiling gently like he was proud of him for apologizing.

"Shut up," she said again, the words softer and muffled against his chest. "You're right… you were right to say what you did. It might have been harsh but… I needed to hear it. And I'm sorry too, okay?"

Nino didn't speak, leaning back and pulling her back a little to look into her face, clenching his teeth and breathing in before crushing her against him again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I'd never make you cry on purpose B… I love you, you're one of my best friends. I'm really sorry..."

"I love you too Nino…" she said quietly, returning his hug and letting him hold her for a moment before wiggling against his hold, taking a step back and wiping at her eyes.

She stood there, taking deep breathes and rubbing her arms absentmindedly before she made some kind of decision.

She swallowed once before clearing her throat, shaking her head before looking up with a smile, only slightly forced at first but getting more natural the longer she wore it.

"Alright Ninja Turtle," she laughed a little breathlessly, sniffing a bit and holding her arms. "Now that you're done being an ass and I'm done being a wimp… let's just forget about it okay? Me and Adrien-" she hesitated, looking over her shoulder at him who watched, tail flickering as he waited for her to finish her sentence.

She took an extra moment before the smile became natural all together, looking up at Nino with gentle eyes. "Me and Adrien will be okay. And we'll take care of ourselves. Even so…" she paused, looking away as if it was too embarrassing to say to his face. "Thank you for everything…"

Nino was stunned, watching her before looking over at Cat Noir, his friend nodding his head and grinning. "Genuinely," he added from a distance. "Don't know what would have gone down without you pushing us in the right direction."

"Some things are always meant to happen," Nino said without thinking, growing a little self-conscious of himself as he spoke and looking away, trying to play it off. "I just played middleman."

He could feel them both looking at him, then look at each other, but he didn't want to check to see if they were impressed or making fun of him so he just said, "Well like you said let's forget about it. Out of my court now, you losers are on your own."

His friends paused for a moment before they burst out laughing, Cat Noir walking over towards the group now that the heavy stuff seemed to be said. Nino couldn't help but smile when Cat put his arm around Ladybug, winking at her when she looked up to which she only rolled her eyes. She still smiled to herself though.

' _I seem to be rubbing off on you,'_ Wayzz teased, Nino fighting off a grumble. ' _You said it well, and I'm proud of you for apologizing.'_

"Eh," Nino said aloud with a shrug, his two friends looking up in confusion but he didn't answer them either.

Truth be told he was just trying to make up for his misstep, and what Wayzz had said sort of stuck with him. He could see what he meant, when he said Marinette and Adrien were each other's fact. Hard for him to say it with the same effect though.

"Alright shall we address the elephant in the room?" Cat Noir said with a grin, the weight on his shoulders growing lighter every second. "Or rather the turtle?"

"Oh yeah," Nino said, looking down at his outfit. "Almost forgot for a second there."

"We didn't," Ladybug said with a laugh, her voice still holding traces of her sobs in it but getting stronger as she cleared her throat again. "Look at you! You seem to be getting adjusted."

Nino shrugged, laughing awkwardly. "Well it took falling off a building but yeah sorta getting used to moving around at least."

Cat Noir chuckled, retracting his arm from Ladybug's shoulders to jerk a thumb in her direction. "Hey she fell out of the sky when we first met too." He paused, looking a tad sheepish as he said with a smile, "And I might have had a fall or two myself before she showed up."

"Sooo!" Ladybug said excitedly, some of her bubbly Marinette energy breaking through as she tried to distract herself, still smiling when Cat Noir settled his arm on her again. "What's the breakdown?"

"About as far as I've messed around," Nino said as he reached back for his shield, "this thing is my weapon _and_ how I get around so not all that different from what you guys got. My communication is in this though," he said as he gestured to his wrist, "Which is good because trying to use a giant shield for a video chat would suck."

The others laughed, Cat Noir's laugh faltering into a startled swallow when ladybug reached up to hold his hand dangling from her shoulder with one of her own. Nino looked away, chuckling to himself.

"Show us the shield!" Cat suggested after he recovered, pulling Ladybug back a few steps so they were both standing a short distance away with big smiles. It kind of reminded Nino of proud parents at a student assembly, and he struggled not to be embarrassed.

Nino did as he was asked, tossing the shield down and getting on with ease, the mount and dismount having been practiced religiously by this point.

Nino turned his weight to swing the board to face his friends who gasped excitedly, Ladybug's arms clutched close to her chest as she 'oooooh'ed.

"Now _that's_ cool!" Cat Noir complimented, encouraging Nino to move around a bit.

He did as he was asked, showing how it turned and how speeding up worked and such. When he got off the movement was smooth (thank god) and he stepped down hard on the end closest to him to kick it back up towards his arm where it connected automatically in one motion.

He felt his neck heat up when Ladybug and Cat clapped, their faces so genuinely happy he was having a hard time doing anything.  
"Come on guys," he whined, "this is why I didn't call you right away."

"We're excited for you!" Ladybug defended them, hands on her hips defiantly, "We're not embarrassing you, this is really cool!"

"kinda feel like whats embarrassing is up to me but whatever" Nino mumbled to himself, looking up when Cat Noir ran over.

"Hang on put it down again. Lady can use my staff, I want to see if I can ride this thing."

Nino quirked an eyebrow but threw it back down, the shell hovering about an inch off the ground and patiently waiting for Cat Noir.

"I got this!" he declared, stepping on and threatening to fall over almost immediately. "Ah, okay, that's harder to stand on then I thought."

"Yeah it took me awhile," Nino said with a shrug, feeling a little better to see someone else struggle with it. Then a lightbulb kicked in and his eyes narrowed a fraction.

That's what Adrien was doing, he could tell, especially when he asked Nino for advice on how to move around. He was letting him feel like the guy who knew what was going on and teaching someone else something.

Nino blinked, not responding right away before saying, "Uh, keep your balance, and lean your weight in the direction you want it to go."

Nino stared after him as Cat Noir played around a little, laughing as he zipped around and laughing still even when he fell off.

Nino felt something warm in his chest that wasn't related to embarrassment or guilt, but something more akin to… gratefulness.

'Thanks…' he thought silently, to both of them. 'For everything you've done too…'

' _Pardon me master,'_ Wayzz suddenly spoke up, Nino's head tilting toward the bracelet though the voice came from inside his own head.

"Wassup buddy?" he said aloud, Ladybug and Cat Noir looking over and understanding pretty quickly that he was referring to his kwami. Ladybug called out for a turn on the 'hover board' as Wayzz continued.

' _Excuse the childishness,'_ Wayzz said with a surprisingly sheepish tone, somehow mixed with bravado and humor, ' _but with Plagg around I can really never resist. Would you be above showing off a little?'_

Nino took a second to react before he was grinning, his tone teasing. "Wayzz I'm surprised at you. Sort of took you for the more mature one out of the two of you."

' _I am!'_ Wayzz insisted, ' _Always have been, but Plagg has insisted on showing off his Cat Noir's since the dawn of time. He's always gloating, you should hear him,'_ he said with a slight huff. ' _You're a fantastic Jade Turtle, and there are some things you can try! It'll be good for both of us.'_

Nino laughed, shaking his head and walking over towards where the others were playing with his shield. "Hey you don't need to do the hard sale I'm on board little man. What did you want to do?"

Nino approached the others, listening to Wayzz and humming in understanding and then at one point "Wait I can do that? Cause that is really rad."

Ladybug was tottering on his shield when he got there, stepping off with a slight stumble and stooping to hand it to him, one hand falling to her hip as she asked, "So what are you doing?"

"Apparently," Nino said slowly, grabbing his shield and walking off towards the tower, "there are a couple of water related things Wayzz wants me to try."

"Makes sense," Cat said with a laugh, hands behind his head as the three casually strolled through the deserted area. "I hope you can't do that thing where turtles pull their heads into their bodies, and if you can please don't ever do it ever."

"Oh man that sounds gross!" Nino burst out, making a face that made Ladybug laugh.

"I doubt he could but yeah," she agreed, "don't try."

The three walked together, Ladybug striking up a casual conversation of 'how are we going to get you off lockdown?' which Nino was pretty engaged in.

"You guys are big deals, if you swing by and say I'm clear to go at the very least I can go back to school again."

"Sounds easy," she said with a finger tapping her chin, deep in thought, "it'll have to be both of us though. We'll have to try after school tomorrow though. We don't have enough time to clear you by then."

Nino was nodding when he noticed Cat Noir glance down towards his ring, lifting that hand slightly with one eyebrow raised. Nino watched as he titled his head much like he had for Wayzz, listening to something before scoffing, " _No_ Plagg."

The two other heroes looked at him questioningly and Cat Noir rolled his eyes. "It's nothing, Plagg is being a poor sport cause he isn't getting attention right now."

He winced suddenly, reaching up to cover his cat ears with one arm and saying to his ring, "Relax! Stop yelling I was just messing with you. Let him have this man."

Nino snorted, shaking his head before saying, "Seems like they have a little friendly rivalry going huh? Hope they don't expect us to fight."

' _I wouldn't make you fight your friend!'_ Wayzz protested indignantly, just as Cat Noir tilted his head and scoffed, "I am NOT fighting my friend Plagg."

Then it was Ladybug's turn to pause for a moment with one hand on her earrings, before saying, "Tikki says 'Boys knock it off.'"

They all traded glances before they starting laughing, arriving at the side of the Seine river in stitches.

"According to Tikki it's always been like that," Ladybug relayed with an entertained smile. "Close friends but always trying to one up each other."

"Hilarious," Cat said with a shake of the head, his fake ears twisting a little as he grinned. Then he turned his attention to Nino. "Well Mr. Jade Turtle we've arrived, what did Wayzz want to try?"

"Not completely sure," Nino admitted, hopping the railing and looking down at the water. "Care to elaborate a little?" Nino said towards his bracelet.

' _Get on your shield and coast down,'_ Wayzz said simply, ' _Make no changes. Just like coasting down a street.'_

"But it's water?" Nino said uncertainly, knowing his statement was correct but Wayzz just laughed. He turned towards his friends. "Don't think he's going to elaborate so I'm just gonna go for it and be really cold probably."

Ladybug beamed at him excitedly while Cat Noir gave an animated thumbs up. So Nino just sighed and got on his board, pushing off and out into the open air.

He had practiced going from the roof to the street before and found that it typically went down in an arc, the same true as he headed towards the river. He was thinking since he was turtle themed he would be pretty okay in the water but hadn't really been hoping for a late night swim. However when his shield connected with the water he didn't sink, it didn't even tip. It just coasted over the surface of the river, just like he was riding down a street.

"WOO!" he heard behind him from up on the street, executing a drifting turn to see Cat Noir had jumped on top of the fence and was pumping his fists in the air. "Oh Lordy he can walk on water!"

"Halleluiah!" Ladybug chorused in the same dramatic voice, laughing and giggling as Cat Noir danced on the railing.

"Wow…" Nino said to himself, looking over the edge of the shell into the dark waters of the river. He shifted his weight, drifting over it like an ice skater until a mischievous grin broke out over his face. "Now there's nothing blocking my way… let's see how fast this goes."

* * *

Back on the street Ladybug gripped the railing tightly, leaning over the watch as Cat Noir sat down, swinging his legs over the water.

"Look at him go!" he said happily, pride clear in his voice as Nino became more daring, leaning more heavily and picking up speed. "And who said turtles were slow?"

"Wow," Ladybug breathed out, watching as Nino zipped over the surface of the water, his momentum disturbing the water slightly and leaving a trail spreading behind him. She smiled when she heard him laugh. "He seems to be doing pretty well," she said after a moment, "and after being so apprehensive."

"Well I imagine giving him enough confidence to jump in a fight is going to be another story," Cat said with a chuckle. "But baby steps right?" He looked over at her, smiling down at her as she looked up. "We clear him for school, let him do these night runs to practice for a while. Maybe start working him into patrols."

"We should probably introduce him to the city," she hummed in response, looking out over the water as Nino executed a pretty sick turn that sent out a huge tidal wave of water and made him laugh again. "People have already been asking questions about seeing the old Jade Turtle, seeing a young one now will probably confused people."

Cat Noir shrugged, not looking terribly bothered. "We don't need to explain it, we just have to say, 'This is our buddy he's going to be in Paris now. Please plan his statue and add his name to the guest list.'"

Ladybug snorted at that, giggling into her hands before she looked up at him with eyes shining with humor, stunning him slightly.

"Oh my god when he gets a statue he is going to be so flustered. Him being the turtle makes perfect sense honestly he'll just hide in his room when it gets put up."

Cat Noir was frozen for a second before he burst out laughing, the sound long and ringing out into the sleeping city.

They shared that laugh for a while before silence fell between them, and Adrien rejoiced quietly that it didn't feel awkward. It was alright.

"I'm happy for him…" Ladybug said eventually, her voice quiet and earnest. "That he's having this you know? He did a lot of good that the city will never know about. I want him to have the statue and be recognized. He's so used to doing good deeds without any praise… I think it will make him happy to get some."

Cat Noir hummed in agreement, smiling as Nino did a flip and nearly fell but stuck the landing anyways, hooting in victory. "You're right. Having him in on this already felt good, sharing it with him is even better. And did you see him with Wayzz when you went over?" he asked, turning to look at her. "They bonded so quickly. Wayzz is the perfect amount of level headed but still giddy and fun. He's always been sort of slow to anger but when he got there he was irrational you know? He'd lash out, get mad and blame others. I kind of think Wayzz will balance that you know? A calm little turtle to tell him what's what. I dunno," he shrugged, "I don't know if that makes any sense really. I'm not sure how Tikki is for you but with me I was just lonely for a long time, and now I've got Plagg to make me laugh and mess around. I think that's part of it."

Ladybug was silent for a moment, staring at him in surprise before smiling and nodding. "I agree," she spoke quietly, her smile clear in her voice. "I had no confidence at all before all this, but Tikki is the kind of supportive I really needed. Someone to tell me I was okay and doing the right thing. A little certainty."

She was quiet for a little before she said, "He will be an amazing hero… he already is, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Cat Noir answered with a grin, waving as Nino started to head back towards them. "He really is."


	5. Chapter 5

"I… I'm just not sure…" Nino's mother was saying quietly, her hands twisted together in front of her as she faced two of the superheroes who had saved her sons life. Ladybug and Cat Noir stood a respectful distance away, standing near Nino farther into the home and more towards the hallway where Nino's bedroom could be found.

Cat Noir spoke gently and sincerely, laying a hand on Nino's shoulder as he spoke. "We wouldn't put your son at risk, we are being honest with you."

"The circumstances have changed," Ladybug said vaguely, taking a step forward to hold the mother's hands in her own. "He's no longer in danger any more than any other citizen might be with that monster around. But Cat Noir and I will not stop until he is gone. And we have a new ally as well."

Nino looked up, eyes widened slightly in surprise as Cat Noir spoke up.

"You have nothing to worry about. There are now three heroes in Paris, and together we will keep everyone safe, including your son. But for now you can go about your lives like normal. It's about time Nino went back to school."

"Yes," Ladybug agreed, dropping the mother's hands to gesture towards Nino. "He'll fall behind if he's out much longer, and we express again that the threat has passed. He can go back to his normal life, seeing his friends and going out. We understand your apprehension but we'd never ask this of you if we weren't one hundred percent certain that things had changed."

Nino's mother was still, her brow furrowed as she thought, concern clear in her eyes when she looked at her son. But finally she sighed, closing her eyes and slowly nodding her head before saying, "Okay… I trust you. I just… wouldn't be able to bear it if something happened to him again… or anyone else's children." She looked up, golden eyes hard and charged with emotion. "Please don't let something like this happen to anyone else. I know you'll do your best."

Nino watched as his friends nodded, taking the sentiment seriously. Then Cat Noir looked down at him, winking before saying "You're in the clear buddy. You haven't been let out in what, six days? You should go get some sun."

Nino laughed, rolling his eyes a bit before saying, "Actually as it so happens I was going to go hang out with my friend Adrien for a while."

"Oh!" Cat Noir exclaimed dramatically, Ladybug sighing much to the mother's confusion. "Well isn't that perfect! Make sure to tell him hello for me when you see him, I hear he's a charming guy."

"Eh," Nino said with a shrug, smirking as he said, "He can kind of be a loser sometimes."

Ladybug snorted, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth as Cat Noir gasped dramatically, so she quickly stepped over to grab him by the shoulder to start dragging him towards the door.

"W-we have somewhere to go," Ladybug said between bouts of laughter as Cat Noir grumbled, glaring at Nino for a moment before dropping the act with a chuckle, winking at him as he opened the door.

"Thank you for your hospitality!" Ladybug said just before they left, both heroes waving before exiting through the front door, leaving Nino in the apartment alone with his mother.

"They are certainly characters aren't they?" she said with a laugh, the sound subdued slightly. Nino looked up at her to see her staring at the wall in distant thought, her eyes heavy.

"Mom?" Nino asked quietly, taking a step towards her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "They said I'm gonna be okay now. I'll be alright."

"I know honey…" she said slowly, eyes closing. "It was just so awful." Her hands rose to her face, covering her mouth for a moment before she lifted them to say, "You can never imagine what it's like until you have children of your own. To walk into your son's bedroom with glass all over… your child snatched from hi-" her voice faltered and Nino saw tears start to overflow, his chest aching in guilt and pain.

"Momma…" he said gently, hugging her tightly. He didn't call her that too much, but she had always liked it. He didn't know what to say, he couldn't change what had happened or how it had made his parents feel. He hated that.

She hugged him back, laying her head on top of his as best she could before a quiet laugh slipped out.

"You're so tall…" she muttered, chuckling to herself as she wiped away the tears. "Always have to make it hard for me huh? Can't even hug you right anymore."

Nino snorted, hugging her even tighter as he said, "Sorry, not sorry."

She laughed again, one hand resting on the back of his head and cradling him to her for a moment more before she sighed and pulled away.

"You're a strong boy," she said as her hands fell to rest on his shoulders, "with a knack for finding trouble. So be careful please… I can't just lock you up in here anymore. As much as I wish it wasn't true I can't protect you from everything. So… go meet your friend. But please be careful…"

"I will Momma," he said earnestly, crushing her with another hug before pulling away to run towards his room.

When Nino shut his bedroom door he hesitated, taking a moment to breathe deeply and push down all those awful, sharp emotions and shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Wayzz asked genuinely, appearing his temporary hiding place in Nino's blankets to float in front of his face.

"Fine," Nino said simply, taking another deep breath before smiling. "We're in the clear though. We can leave now."

"That's good," Wayzz said, his tone a little reserved as he scanned Nino's face. However after a moment he decided that sometimes Nino just needed to ignore some things and gave his charge a smile of his own. "Are we going out then?"

"Yup," Nino said, striding towards his desk to grab his headphones and wallet, checking that he had his cash stash in there. He had pretty much pulled everything he had saved for this, but he wasn't gonna tell Wayzz that. "We're meeting Adrien and heading to a store to get your tank."

"Oh!" Wayzz exclaimed in excitement, grabbing his feet and rocking in the air. "Hooray!"

Nino chuckled, stuffing his wallet in his pocket and resting his headphones on his shoulders but pausing for a moment. "Uh," he said, looking up at Wayzz, "alright you got to hide on me but, where would be easiest for you to do that?"

"Simple!" Wayzz said without hesitation, zipping forward right towards Nino's face and making him flinch before darting upward at the last second, squeezing under his cap and wiggling his way to the top of Nino's head. "This will do!" Wayzz called, his voice slightly muffled from being underneath the baseball cap.

Nino chuckled to himself, adjusting the brim again making sure Wayzz had room up there before heading towards his door. "Alright, off we go."

Adrien was waiting for him when he got out side, casually leaning against the side of his typically flashy high end car, complete with Gorilla.

"Hey!" Adrien said with a grin, reaching out for the fist-bump when Nino got closer. "Everything all cleared up?"

"Yup," Nino said with a relieved huff. "I can finally move around again. But gotta ask bro, the store isn't that far what's with the ride?"

Adrien stood up straight, opening the door for Nino as he said, "Well you kind of made it sound like we were getting a lot of stuff. I figured having a car and someone other than me to help lift things would save you the delivery costs."

Nino climbed in, sliding across the seat and waiting for Adrien to sit down next to him, taking the time to awkwardly wave at the gigantic man who acted as Adrien's body guard and car driver. He didn't get a wave back, but he did get a grunt of acknowledgment which felt pretty good. It was a lot more then he had ever gotten before.

"That's true," Nino eventually said, leaning back and about to put his feet up on the middle console before he got the death glare from the driver.

He grinned sheepishly and slowly lowered his foot as Adrien asked, "So you just said you needed stuff. What are we getting?"

Nino tried to think through how to explain it as the car started moving, already knowing the way. "Uuuh, well little dude likes swimming so I'm picking up a turtle tank and all the stuff that goes with it."

Adrien's face lit up before he started laughing, grinning as he said "Makes sense. Getting a big one?"

"Big as I can," Nino said simply, leaning with his hands behind his head.

It didn't take very long to get there with a car, the boys arriving at a locally popular pet store called 'Chacabo'. It was a simple black wood store front with large windows displaying cages filled with rats and birds and all sorts, the logo a colorful assortment of cat and dog silhouettes.

"We'll come get you if we get something too heavy," Adrien told his driver, quickly getting out of the car before the door could be opened for him and rushing towards the storefront, eager to look through it.

"Bro wait up!" Nino laughed, smiling at the driver and saying 'thanks dude' before running after him. He held the brim of his hat and was careful not to jostle Wayzz who grabbed tiny tufts of hair in his hands to keep from getting thrown around too much.

Nino reached out, swinging the door open and being immediately accosted with the tidal wave of smells associated with that many animals in one place. It wasn't bad by any means, they were obviously well cared for but you couldn't do much about the sawdust and aquarium smells.

The chime of a bell announced his entrance as he strolled in, looking around him in slight awe as he heard a female voice call out, "Hello! Welcome!"

Nino turned, looking around a pretty bulky rack of dog collars and leashes to see a young girl maybe a few years older than him running the front counter. She smiled happily, adjusting her glasses as she said with a chuckle, "I believe your friend came in ahead of you? He went towards the back where the larger cages are."

Nino laughed, smiling sheepishly as he headed the direction she pointed. "Yeah I don't think he's ever been in a pet shop before. I'll go find him."

"Let me know if you need anything!" she called as he ran off to find Adrien.

He looked around himself as he walked and muttered under his breath, "Geeze this place is huge! Got birds and rats and mice and hamsters, they even have dogs and cats here too and all the stuff they need. If we can't find what we need here then it straight up doesn't exist."

He heard Wayzz laugh to himself as he kept going, pausing every once in a while when his attention was caught by yet another intriguing animal or product. Eventually though he heard Adrien talking to someone up ahead, and as he got closer he recognized Plagg's voice responding.

"Got them all cooped up in here!" Plagg was complaining, Nino turning the corner to see Plagg rather recklessly flying out in the open to peer in at a cat cage. Inside was a whole litter of kittens, a few calico colored, two little white ones with black spots and one more ginger one all mewling and walking around. Plagg's tail twitched in irritation, his arms crossed as he looked around. "Where are their parents? Don't tell me they separate all the little ones from their mothers! They aren't even all the same litter!"

"They're playing Plagg!" Adrien tried to placate him, gesturing to the pouncing kittens. "They're healthy and have food and they will probably be adopted soon. They're okay."

Plagg looked at Adrien for a moment before flying right against the cage wall, pointing at each of the kittens in turn. "You stop chewing on him so hard! And you, don't be so trusting I see you running around in there without a care in the world! All of you listen up, you get yourself a nice family or else you claw their arms up and hit the road!"

Adrien put a hand over his mouth to keep from snickering too loud and making his kwami angry, standing up from his crouched position to turn towards Nino with a smile.

"He's very vocal about cat rights," Adrien explained with a shrug, Nino now forced to smother a laugh of his own.

Nino jolted when he felt his hat shift, Wayzz pushing the brim up so he could peer out into the store before he too flew out into the open.

"Bro be careful!" Nino warned, looking around himself nervously.

"There is only one employee," Wayzz explained, "and we are the only customers right now. As long as Plagg and I stay below the shelving we should be alright." Wayzz grinned, looking down towards Plagg before calling out, "and if worst comes to worst you can just climb in the cage right friend?"

"Ha ha," Plagg said mockingly, pushing away from the cage to sly level with Wayzz, hands on his hips. "Go take a dive in the turtle tank why don't you."

"I might!" Wayzz laughed, flying away with Plagg following after him.

"We should probably stay close to them," Adrien said with a nervous laugh, already having lost sight of them and unable to keep from nervously checking where the girl working was at himself.

"Hopefully they don't break anything," Nino huffed, walking in the general direction the kwamis had gone but still looking for what he needed. "See the aquatic section anywhere?"

"Over that way," Adrien informed him, gesturing to the far back corner where the walls were made up of massive fish tanks filled with creatures.

In the end they decided to separate, Nino doing his shopping and keeping the store front girl with him so they would know where she was, Adrien watching their kwamis as they explored.

"So how many gallons does it need to be?" Nino was asking the girl, the two of them standing by a wide variety of empty tanks.

"Well you said it was for a turtle right?" she asked, walking towards a few of the larger ones. "Most turtles need dry land to bask on as well as a lot of water, so something like a 30 gallon tank would probably be best, but you would be fine with a 20 gallon too."

"30 will work," Nino said, looking towards a fairly long tank and working it out logistically in his head. "Could go on top of the… dresser. Yeah, my dresser is long and low so that will work, just got to clear it off."

"Alright so will this one be the one you want?"

"Yup," he said simply, gesturing to the one they had picked. "We've got a big guy with us so he can get that when we're leaving, I'll just pay for it now."

"Okay soooo," she said, pulling out a little notepad she kept in her apron pocket, the apron decorated with little paws and fish across it. "We've got a 30 gallon tank, a heat lamp, a stone landing for the turtle, the short dish food bowl, the filter, the pump, all the vegetation, aaand a small wood log to float on the surface." She clicked her pen, tapping the end of it against her lip methodically as she mentally calculated the prices before saying, "We're looking at about… 170 euros," she said with a smile.

"Agh," Nino couldn't help but say, shaking his head and checking his wallet. He had it but maaan... That was a pretty big chunk. Oh well.

Then suddenly he heard from a short distance away an urgent call of, "Master! Master!"

Both Nino and the girl working turned towards the noise, the girl tilting her head curiously as Nino nervously laughed and walked backwards towards the next aisle.

"Haha, uh that's my friend. What a joker am I right? Hehe… uh if you could just get some of the small stuff up to the front counter I'll be there in a sec."

"Uh, well alright sir," she was saying as he disappeared, the girl left standing there with the notebook.

"What a funny guy."

Nino ducked down in the next aisle, looking around until he found Wayzz crouched behind some fish food.

"Bro!" Nino said in exasperation, Wayzz darting forward with his hands clasped.

"I know I'm sorry!" he quickly apologized, a huge excited grin splitting his face as he squealed, "But it's important! Please come, I'll show you!"

Wayzz was off like a bullet, zipping over the isle and out towards the far wall of tanks. Nino sighed heavily, jogging after him until he found Adrien leaning against a wall, Plagg leaning out of his pocket and tapping the glass of a fish tank.

"He's over there," Adrien laughed, shaking his head. "He fell in love I'm pretty sure, if you don't get it for him I think he'll cry."

"What?" Nino asked, looking over his shoulder to see Wayzz floating in front of a tank, his antenna pressed up against the glass as he peered inside.

"Master!" Wayzz said excitedly, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "You've already gotten me so much and I'm so grateful, and you are already far too kind but…" he looked back into the tank, laughing and pointing, "But look Nino! You said I could have a pet yes? Please? I'll be good to him!"

Nino walked over, kneeling down slightly to look inside the tank Wayzz was at, tilting back the brim of his hat to get closer to the glass.

"A frog?" Nino asked, looking around at the dozen or so small green frogs hopping and swimming around.

"Yes!" Wayzz confirmed, pointing at one sitting on a rock. "That one! With the black spot on his back. He can stay in my tank and I'll take care of him, please? I won't ask for anything more!"

Nino looked back at the small frog, comparing the size to Wayzz and deciding it was like a medium or largish dog on him. Wayzz's pleading was absolutely adorable, and even though the total was already so high there was just no way he could say no.

"Of course little dude," Nino agreed. "We'll get you your little frog, but stay out of sight now alright? I need to get the girl to fish out the frog."

"Make sure it's the right one!" Wayzz said, flying forward and hugging Nino's face before zipping up into the hat. "Thank you!"

Nino spent the next while explain to the girl working why he was suddenly buying a frog and stuff to feed it as well if he already had a turtle at home, but after a real long while they were finally done and Nino was paying up front as the Gorilla loaded up the car.

The girl was smiling at the small container of water the frog floated in, laughing to herself as Nino finished up.

"You be good little frog," she said mostly to herself, Nino smiling at the gesture before leaning over to pick it up.

"Thanks for the help, I know we were in here forever you were cool."

She laughed, waving him off. "Oh no don't worry about it, business has been nothing today honestly, I was really bored."

Adrien held the door open for Nino as he walked out, the girl calling out goodbye as the door swung shut.

"Can I just say thanks for buying Wayzz a pet," Adrien said with a roll of the eyes before he opened the car door. "Now Plagg is asking but I know he won't take care of one. He's mad because I said no."

Nino sputtered and laughed, opening the door with one hand and climbing in.

"Hey if it makes you feel any better I didn't tell my mom about any of this, so that's going to be fun."

Adrien's mouth dropped open as they started on their way, laughing in disbelief as he said, "You just bought all this without asking her? Is she going to be cool with that?"

"Dunno," Nino said with a shrug. "Hopefully?"

* * *

"Nino," his father said in a heavy and exasperated voice, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked out over an absolute TIDAL WAVE of stuff. "You can't just get a pet without permission."

"I almost died," Nino said simply, a disassembled heating lamp in his lap. "I need some stability in my life. What's more stable than a turtle? Nothing."

" _Nino_ ," he said again, his hand gesturing out towards the massive tank now dominating his son's dresser. "This is **gigantic** , how much did all of this cost you!? Have you even _bought_ the turtle yet? How are you going to afford its food? **This** is why you have to **ask.** "

Nino hesitated, his eyes darting to the side towards the underneath of his bed before looking back at his father, who sighed heavily.

"You already bought the turtle didn't you?"

Nino hesitated again.

"Yes?" he said uncertainly.

His father groaned, both hands reaching up to rub at his face before saying, "Well let's see it then… better not be dirty."

"Turtles are not dirty," Nino said defensively, moving to set the lamp down but looking unsure and unable to maintain eye contact. "Uh…" he said, scooting towards the bed, "so. Well this isn't just- I have a reason," Nino said slowly. "This is a… very rare turtle. Yeah. It's endangered? And I just sort of felt like, it was my responsibility as a… youth, to help nurture this species you know? Like, we as people-"

"Nino," his father sighed again, nodding towards the bed. "Show it to me."

Nino waited a moment more before slowly reaching under the bed, pulling his hands back to show… just… the strangest looking turtle.

It _was_ a turtle, the father was pretty sure. It had a shell that was mostly what it had going for it. It was tiny and looked kind of soft, even the shell looked softer than it should. It was waddling awkwardly across Nino's cupped hands on all fours, a very blank look about its face.

"Turtles don't usually have antenna do they?" he asked, watching the weird green protrusion bob as it walked around.

"No," Nino clarified, still looking uncertain. "Uh, it's called the Antenna turtle, because of the antenna. Very rare, very almost dead. I mean, honestly if you didn't let me keep it the species would basically be doomed."

The father sighed, face dropping into his hands. "And the frog?" he asked.

"For the turtle. So he wouldn't be lonely."

His father said nothing, taking a deep breath and straightening up, walking out of the room with nothing more to say and closing the door behind him as he went.

"I think we got away with it," Wayzz said quietly.

"I can't believe that is just gonna blow over, that is amazing," Nino said in disbelief, setting Wayzz down so he could finish assembling the lamp. "You know honestly we got pretty far before he even got home and Mom was whatever about it. The whole tank is full there isn't a lot he could have done anyways."

Outside in the living room Nino's mother was patting her husband's back comfortingly, pretty amused by the whole thing.

"As far as what his traumatic response could have been," the father said in a dull voice, "honestly a turtle is probably the best we could have hoped for."

"My thoughts exactly," his wife chuckled. "It's cute isn't it? A little weird but… it could have been much worse."

"Could have been drugs," the father said with a sigh, almost as if to make himself feel better, looking off towards his sons bedroom and shaking his head. "Almost dies at the hands of a supervillain and what does Nino do? He buys a turtle."

The father turned and looked up at his wife.

"Our son is weird honey."

"Oh he's not that bad," she disagreed, walking away with a laugh. "With all the magic and craziness in the world today just be glad it's only a turtle!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Nino?" Wayzz asked tentatively, hovering over the face of his sleeping charge. Nino's alarm continued to drone on and on but the boy showed no signs of stirring, and Wayzz deliberated for a moment more before sighing and flying back across the room.

Wayzz flew over to his now fully functioning turtle tank, the whole thing so delightful that he had been in it almost exclusively since Nino finished assembling it. The small kwami flew down towards the surface of the water, passing by a floating wooden log with a frog sat squarely on top.

"Good morning Will," Wayzz said kindly, waving to the frog. "You'll be alright here won't you? It's very comfortable. I have to wake Nino now though, I'll see you when school is over. It's been a long time since I've been to school! It will be interesting to see what humans are learning these days."

With that Wayzz quickly dunked himself in the water before flying back towards Nino, flying right up to his face and dripping cold water all over him.

"Eh, AH," Nino said as he was startled awake, sitting up and rubbing at his face before looking around in a disoriented fashion. "Ugh… don't do that, come on bro," Nino grumbled, reaching out for his phone to get it to shut up.

"You'll be late if you waited any longer," Wayzz stated matter-of-factly, not very sorry at all as he flew over to take care of his own things. "Let me know when you are ready to leave, I have to feed Will."

Nino blinked, scratching at his head and fumbling around with one hand for his glasses as he mumbled, "Will? Oh, your frog yeah? Why Will?"

"Because!" Wayzz laughed, rooting through the pet store bag on Nino's desk. "Where there's a Will there's a Wayzz! Clever isn't it?"

Nino paused for a full second before he snorted once, shaking his head and chuckling to himself. "Wow. Yeah, got to tell that one to Adrien, he'll love that."

The turtle duo went through their separate routines, Nino getting ready for school while Wayzz tidied up his tank and enjoyed a few swims while he could. After Nino had showered and thrown on his go to shirt and jeans he multi-tasked, making some soup for his buddy while he just ate whatever he could find. Once Wayzz was all done and Nino was actually sort of awake Wayzz situated himself in Nino's hat and they headed out the door.

Nino found he couldn't actually listen to music while Wayzz was in his hat, he had over the ear headphones and didn't want to squish him. It was definitely outside of the usual for him to walk to school silently, but he couldn't say it was totally bad. It was just quiet. Well, actually, it wasn't even that, it was just different. He could hear people talking as they passed him, car's driving passed, the ringing of storefront doors and general noise of early morning Paris. He loved music, but he found that silence had a calming effect as well. It gave him time to think.

Nino's gaze dropped to the jade bracelet on his left wrist, subtle and unassuming but probably the biggest turn around in his life so far. Just… fell out of the sky. Well actually it came in the mail, but it had been unexpected. He was getting better at it, he still hadn't used his big power yet though or actually had to fight anything. But if skating around on a turtle shell counted as being super awesome then, yeah he had that down. According to Wayzz there was still other stuff he could try, but they were taking their time. No akuma sightings or attacks, no rush or bad news. He could afford to relax a little.

The night before had been the first night where he had company through the whole thing, Ladybug sacrificing a full night's rest to hang out with him a little. They hadn't done way too much, but they essentially did patrol. She showed him where her and Cat usually started and their system for looping around. It had been cool but…

Nino sighed, pulling himself out of his spiraling thoughts and focusing on the sidewalk ahead of him. He shouldn't beat himself up when nothing had happened yet but…

Would he even be able to? Step up when stuff went down? He couldn't stop obsessing over it, the monsters and the chaos and the fighting. The feeling of Hawkmoth standing over him with a sword at his neck.

Was he really going to be able to be a hero when it actually mattered?

"Yes," Wayzz spoke quietly, startling him. "You are braver then you give yourself credit for."

Nino looked around, checking that no other pedestrians nearby were watching him when he responded to his talking hat, saying, "Oh so what you're a mind reader now?"

"No," Wayzz chuckled, "but you are occasionally predictable. Your first transformation or any countless ones after will not ease your doubt, nor will your first fight. Only you can do that. Believe you are a hero and you will be."

Nino huffed, grabbing at the strap of his messenger back in agitation. "Saying that is a lot easier than getting it done little man."

"I know," Wayzz responded, settling into Nino's hair, "but heroism is often that way."

Wayzz offered no further words of wisdom, leaving Nino to quietly stew the rest of the way.

Alright so maybe that had been a bit predictable. Nino doubted himself every chance he got, but he supposed he just wasn't used to having someone around to constantly contradict him.

It was kind of cool.

"Thanks little man," Nino said after a while, feeling a bit better as he finally arrived. He didn't get a response, but rather a soft pat on the head that he took as 'you're welcome'.

Nino scaled the steps to the school, turning and leaning against the same space of wall he usually did as he waited for Adrien. It was kind of funny, the last clear memory Nino had of waiting on that wall with a secret to hide was of his knowledge of Ladybug, but now he had a whole lot more stuff going on. Things were weird man.

He hadn't been waiting long when Adrien's car pulled up, the model stepping out and looking towards Nino's usual spot expectantly, his face lighting up to find him there.

"Hey!" Adrien called out, approaching him with a fist bump prepped and ready to go, Nino quick to reciprocate. "Glad to see you here. I was kind of worried your parents would pull you at the last second or something."

"Nah," Nino shrugged, turning with his friend to head inside. "They don't want to trap me inside, never thought I'd be so glad to go to school again."

Adrien laughed, pleased with the normalcy having Nino back at school provided. Seeing his empty seat had been a constant reminder for everyone about what had happened. Everyone was really excited to have him back, and it was evident by the commotion they caused just by walking through the door.

"Hey!" Kim shouted out, jogging down the steps with half the class at his heels, a surprisingly large number of the students already in class. "So you're alive. Adrien said you were but I had to see it myself."

Nino had been about to respond when Alix interrupted him, hopping up and sliding along his and Adrien's shared desk to say, "Dude that was crazy! You getting got was all over the news, you were attacked by the big bad himself. You must have really pissed him off when you socked his akuma like you did!"

"Yeah!" Ivan chimed in, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "He got mad enough to go after you himself."

"Were you scared?" Mylene asked, hiding behind Ivan slightly and holding his arm like the details of what went down might be enough to scare her too.

"Uh," Nino finally managed during the onslaught of questions, hands up as he laughed awkwardly. "Well I mean yeah I was scared but I knew the super dudes would save me. Hawkmoth hit the road as soon as they showed up."

"Of course," Max chimed in, adjusting his glasses in a stereotypically nerdy way. "A three on one encounter is far from favorable. With someone who hides behind others as often as he does I'm surprised he resorted to that tactic at all."

"Three on one?" Rose asked innocently, peering through the crowd to see Nino but looking at Max. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on you didn't hear!?" Alix said excitedly, jumping down from the desk looking pumped. "Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't the only superheroes on the block anymore! There was a new guy there too! Right Nino?" Alix said, turning to him. "You saw him right? Wasn't there a third guy who saved you?"

Nino looked a little caught out, smiling innocently as he said "Uh yeah. He was called Jade Turtle."

The gather students let out a collective 'woooaah' and chatter picked up, Adrien taking the distraction to guide Nino towards the desk so they would at least have some cover from their classmates. The others gathered on the steps around their table as well as in the space in front of it, everyone so caught up in the energy of a new hero in town that no one wanted to go back to their seats. This was when Alya entered the conversation.

"I already told you guys the name," Alya reminded them, getting everyone's attention as she leaned over her own desk towards everyone else, her eyes shining. "But guess what? I've got some other details that are more recent. I'm talking _last night_ recent."

Nino turned around, catching Marinette's amused expression before looking over to the excited reporter, asking with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," she said triumphantly, pulling out her phone and waggling it in the air. "I'm going to get the full story soon, he's a hard guy to find, but I've got one big scoop no one else has got yet."

"Well?" Kim asked, arms crossed and appearing skeptical.

Alya paused dramatically, letting everyone get good and focused on her before she unlocked her phone, holding up the screen as she said, " _It's not the same guy."_

Nino admittedly felt a bit of uncomfortable heat on his neck as he very clearly saw a distant but clear photo of himself with Ladybug, talking about some details of the patrol route probably. Directly next to it was displayed an equally as distant but clear photo of the old Jade Turtle, the difference in height, age, hair color, and literally almost everything about them incredibly obvious. Nino did his best to keep his cool, self-consciously laying the wrist that had his miraculous on his lap anyways just in case.

"There is no _way_ that's the same guy," Alya pressed as the student's jostled to see the photos. "I got the second photo off the news but I took the one of the new guy myself. I heard that Jade Turtle had been spotted again but only way late at night, so last night I snuck out, grabbed my bike and went all over the city. And it _totally_ payed off! I got this pic of him talking to Ladybug clear as day! There is no denying it, there is a totally new miraculous wielder which **proves** my theory!" she said excitedly, so animated it was actually pretty infectious. "The stones are passed from person to person! I thought that maybe it was the same hero from the very beginning, that maybe Ladybug was just thousands of years old and reappeared whenever people needed her but it's not that at all! There are _more_ miraculous stones and they are _inherited!_ Do you guys get how big of a break through that is!?"

A few of the students looked kind of confused but the others were on board, getting excited as they traded places to get a better look at the photos.

"So you think this new guy is the _next_ Jade Turtle?" Alix asked, pushing up her snap back to peer at the phone close range.

"I'm almost positive," Alya confirmed, her expression incredibly determined. "That other guy was amazing but he was definitely old. I'm not surprised that he would want to pass it down. The only question is who did he give it to? My guess," she said dramatically, in full reporter mode now, "is that it's someone who lives in Paris! I mean, why would Jade Turtle show up from nowhere and then only now decide to stay in the city when there are clearly super baddies here all the time? I'm betting the old Jade Turtle lived super far away and only came when he heard about a supervillain making his big move, and has now left his miraculous stone in Paris to better fortify the fight against _Hawkmoth!"_

Alya took back her phone, flipping through to her blog and totally missing the three blank looks she was receiving from her friends.

Damn that was pretty close.

"So," Alya continued, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, "I've got a plan. The only way I'm going to prove any of this is if I track him down. He likes to hang out at night, so I'm going out again. There is no way I'm letting him get away without a one on one interview. No new superhero is going to be in town and get away from me!"

Nino was sitting very still before he started to slowly turn around, facing forward and leaning his head on one hand, doing his best to ignore Adrien sliding into his peripheral vision with a huge smirk on his face.

"Yeah," Adrien was saying so the whole class could hear and still grinning, "You're a really tenacious reporter. There's no getting away from you!"

Nino heard Marinette's snicker from her desk behind him and he remained focused on being very carefully neutral.

This wasn't ideal…

"Alright class!" Ms. Bustier called as she walked in, signaling for the students to clear the area they had been crowding and return to their seats. She was looking down at a folder when she walked in, but when she looked up she seemed delighted to find Nino in his usual seat. "And Nino is back with us! I'm glad you're alright, and don't worry. You have till the end of the month to complete any assignments that were given while you were recovering."

"Thanks Ms. B," Nino said genuinely, a bit distracted as she started to call roll.

Adrien was right, and Marinette too though she hadn't said it out loud. If Alya wanted to track him she probably would, or wander Paris all night trying too. Just from his one patrol he had seen that something like that wasn't the safest idea, but Alya never cared much about safe when it came to superheroes.

He repressed a sigh, head leaning on one hand as he stared blankly ahead.

He was actually doing a pretty good job, looking cool and collected. Inside though he was just imagining Alya, phone on and recording collecting the first public face of Jade Turtle. She'd ask questions he can't answer and he's never been great about being recorded. He was going to be in the public eye now, maybe not as much as the other two but he was a hero now.

Damn. He was a hero now. And he hadn't even fought yet…

He felt a soft pressure on his scalp, Wayzz patting his head almost absentmindedly. Nino had no way to know if Wayzz had just guessed that he was stewing or if it had just been a passing gesture, but it still forced him to collect himself.

Alright so… Alya was going to be on the lookout for him now. At least he had some kind of heads up. And luckily at the time of it being recorded there would only be Alya there. She was his friend, even if she didn't know it at the time. Shouldn't be too hard right?

…ugh.

He wasn't looking forward to tonight.

* * *

It was about 2:00 AM when Alya dragged her bike into an alleyway, pulling out her phone and using the light from a restaurants side door to like her face as she started to record.

"Hey Ladybloggers, its Alya here. It's now 2:00 AM and I haven't caught sight of our elusive turtle yet."

She looked to the side, huffing slightly before turning back to the camera. "But don't worry, I'm not giving up yet. I'll go until dawn I I've got to, it's time the city met its new hero and I'm going to be the one to break the story."

With that she shut off the recording, tucking her phone back into her pocket before she got back on her bike, setting off into the city.

She had been at it for two hours now with no luck, but she remained hopeful. He didn't have any reason to hide, so she doubted he was avoiding her. It was just a matter of _finding_ him.

She headed off in the general direction she had spotted him last time with Ladybug, pedaling along the river and enjoying the atmosphere of Paris at night. You would think being alone late at night in a big city would be unnerving but it wasn't really, not when you knew superheroes walked about. In her opinion any petty crooks still stealing cars and robbing stores in _this_ city were either ballsy or stupid. The crime rate overall had dropped drastically when the heroes had come to town, even if 'super' crimes were pretty commonplace now. She biked around the city without fear, the chance to meet a new hero keeping her awake well into the hours she should be asleep.

Ladybug and Cat Noir were cool enough, like crazy cool, but how was this new guy? Was he the cocky play around type like Cat Noir? Was he the confident powerhouse leader type like Ladybug? Or was he something else? Only way to know was to meet him herself.

Alya laughed to herself out loud as she turned to head over a bridge, pedaling to the middle and pausing to overlook the river as it was lit up by moonlight. She was a bit giddy really, a third hero! She had so much to ask him.

"Well," she suddenly heard from somewhere nearby, called out to her, "you seem to be enjoying yourself. Night time bike ride?"

Alya gasped, looking around her before she followed the sound down, and saw him there on the surface of the water.

Jade Turtle skated into view some distance below her, standing on a circular green disk like shape that stayed on the surface and supported his weight. She recognized him instantly, having already obsessed over the one photo she had.

Alya got off her bike, running to the side and gripping the railing as she said, "It's you! You're him aren't you? You're Jade Turtle?"

The hero didn't answer right away, looking down at his outfit before looking up and saying with a chuckle, "Well there aren't many other guys dressed as turtles so I guess I must be."

"Oh my gosh!" Alya cheered, fumbling for her phone and grinning from ear to ear. "Please, can I have an interview?"

Instead of answering that question Jade instead asked, "You're Alya right?"

She froze, phone in her hands but not yet recording as she asked quickly, "How do you who I am?"

"Ladybug told me about you," he said smoothly, arms crossed but not looking closed off. There was something sort of gentle about his face, she noted mentally. "You're the reporter behind the Ladyblog right? I'm a fan, though I guess everyone is. No one would be caught dead not being up to date with that thing."

Alya's brain sort of broke, eyes wide as she stared down at the hero who chuckled, probably having expected that.

"L-Ladybug," she stammered, before she went all out and shouted, "Ladybug told you about me?!"

Jade straight up laughed now, skating backwards a little and leaning to the side, gradually heading towards the bank of the river. She followed when she could move again, stumbling after him as he replied.

"Yeah, you kind of dedicate a blog to her, she obviously knows you dude."

The two kept mostly level with each other until Jade leapt up the side of the river, landing on the railing and bringing what she finally saw to be a shield to rest up on his back.

Alya ran her bike towards him, quickly ditching it to lean on a lamppost as she closed the distance. She could see him clearly now, under the light of a simple lamppost like you might find in a park and sitting on the railing in front of the river with his hood up, leaning forward casually with his elbows on his knees. His face was carefully relaxed but she could see something was a little off, his expression coming off as a little… uncomfortable.

"Well Ms. Reporter," he said when she got there, smiling in a friendly yet apprehensive sort of way, "want an interview?"

Alya nodded, quickly looking around before saying, "Here! Sit on this bench. I can point the camera at us then we can just talk. Cool?"

Jade seemed surprised, saying, "Uh yeah sure," before complying with what she wanted. Alya set up the camera on the railing he had just vacated faster than he could sit down again, Alya beating him to the bench with an eager smile as she said, "Alright let's get started!"

He laughed, shaking his head and smiling before saying, "Yeah alright. What's up then?"

"You're a new hero right?" Alya asked immediately, getting right to the punch. Jade looked like he had been expecting as much.

"Yup," he answered simply.

"So you're an ally of Ladybug and Cat Noir's?" she pressed, watching him carefully.

"Yup," he said again, nodding. "We're bros."

"So if the city is under attack again you are now around to help out?"

"Mhm," he hummed, looking up at her to see that she looked a little annoyed at his short answers so he sighed and elaborated. "I'm a miraculous wielder like them. I showed up to help and am going to be sticking around in Paris from now on to be a thorn is Butterfly Butt's side."

She looked happy with that, grinning wide as she asked, "So you are a new protector of the city? That's so cool!"

He laughed, something about her fawning over him humorous apparently. He didn't offer anything else on his own though, something she was starting to notice was a trend.

'If I have to drag it out I will,' she thought to herself, getting ready to jump straight to the big question.

"You're not the same Jade Turtle as the one involved in the rescue mission at the Notre Dame, are you?"

Jade met her gaze unflinchingly, answering, "I am not."

Alya's face lit up, delighted to have been right. "So who are you?"

"Jade Turtle," he answered with a laugh, rolling his eyes. "Oh come on what you think I was just going to tell you? Like 'Oh I'm so and so, I work at the market'. No"

She huffed, looking him over. "No, guess I shouldn't have thought it would be so easy."

"Smart," he chuckled, looking away again.

"You're kind of reserved," she noted, expecting him to react but he just shrugged his shoulders. "Camera shy?" she asked, a slightly teasing tone audible in her voice.

"Well not everyone is great about press," he said dismissively, still trying a friendly smile anyways though. "I'll adapt. I'm new to this."

She took the opening to refocus the conversation, saying, "So you are the new guy. Your miraculous was given to you by the previous Jade Turtle so you could be trained to take his place?"

She could see one of his eyebrows raise as he grinned. "Clever girl."

"Some people think so," she said back, making him laugh. She was grateful that he was making an attempt to give her the interview, she could at least try and make him more comfortable.

"At any rate," he said before she could speak again, "I'm Jade now, and you'll be seeing a lot more of me. I'm here to help out."

"Can you tell us a bit about your powers?" she asked, changing the subject since she had a feeling she was going to hit a brick wall in that direction.

"Mm," he deliberated for a moment, grinning as he said, "probably. No fun doing it like that though."

She huffed again, grimacing slightly at him which only made him laugh. When he laughed that time the sound was a lot fuller, the hero leaning back against the bench and dropping his hood to muss with his hair. She was a little caught off guard and she wasn't totally sure why.

"You have that shield," she tried to corner him, going off of context clues she had for lack of anything else, determined to get something more from him. "What's it do?"

"Block things hopefully," he said dismissively again, seeming to enjoy watching her get irritated with his evasiveness.

"It acts like a hover board, you use it to get around?" she tried again.

"Mm," he deliberated for a moment, looking off into the distance almost sarcastically before finally saying, "Yeah."

Alya sighed, arms crossed as she said, "You really gonna make me do all the work here tough guy?"

His grin didn't falter as he looked over at her, seeming a bit more confident. "I'm sorry Ms. Reporter am I annoying you?"

She leaned against the back of the bench, weight on her shoulder with her arms still crossed as she said, "Not completely, though you're getting there."

He laughed heavily again at that, his smile bright now.

"Alright, alright," he said in a placating way, reaching back to grab his shield and displaying it to the camera. "Cool yeah? It can do this," he said, quickly demonstrating how quickly it could change sizes.

Alya gasped, her love of heroes overcoming her mostly playful irritation. "Woah, that's _so_ cool!"

He was smiling as he set the shield on the ground, leaning it on his knees. "Pretty rad yeah?"

"Being a superhero must be epic huh?" Alya asked after a moment, looking at him and was surprised when he turned to catch her gaze, a genuine sort of humor in his eyes.

"Mm. Yeah, it's cool. It's really cool, not trying to downplay it or nothing, I mean giant turtle shell shield is freaking rad, but a lot of responsibility comes with it too. That's not bad exactly, but it's worth being aware of. It's not really a get up or a 'superpower' that makes you a hero, its doing the right thing and protecting everybody you can yeah?"

He ended the sentence a little unsure, having said the words powerfully enough but ending things with a question mark, as if waiting to see if she'd agree. It didn't really feel like they were on camera anymore, they were just talking, and she sort of forgot about being an interviewer for a second.

"Absolutely," she agreed, smiling at him and saying, "but having 'turtle power' can't be too shabby right?"

He laughed, rolling the shield from left to right in his hands idly. "Yeah, definitely. It was a little overwhelming at first but I'm pretty alright now. Next time stuff goes bad I'll be out there with the others, don't worry. JT's on top of this now."

Alya grinned, saying enthusiastically, "That's good to hear. Paris is lucky to have you."

He took a second to respond before smirking, the lamp light shining in his eyes and making them appear utterly golden as he said, "I appreciate that."

Alya blinked, standing up and heading towards her phone to shut off the recording as Jade stood, fitting his shield back in place. She held her phone protectively against her chest and danced giddily in place for a second, giggling to herself.

"This is the best footage ever! The _first_ contact with the new hero this is _awesome!_ "

"Glad I could help," he said warmly, seeming to mean it. He was much looser now then he had been at the start, a lot more 'dude bro' then he had been at the beginning.

He didn't leave right away, watching her as she quickly skipped through the footage to make sure the audio was all good. When she looked up he was still standing there, a little bashful as he said, "It's really late for you to be out here. I know it might be weird but I'd feel better if you let me walk you home."

Alya paused, phone still in her hands as she realized what he was asking before saying, "Uh, I live sort of far, are you sure?"

He shrugged, seeming unperturbed. "Doesn't matter to me. Dangerous for a pretty girl to be out on her own."

He didn't seem to have caught exactly what he had said, but Alya definitely did, one eyebrow going up and that same teasing edge in her voice as she echoed, "Pretty girl?"

Jade froze, eyes going a bit wider before he was sputtering, one hand nervously running through his hair as he tried to recover, turning to her and saying with a smirk still covered in embarrassment, "You saying you aren't?"

Alya paused, grinning slightly. She hadn't expected that response.

"No," she disagreed, watching as the hero tried to play it off like he had totally meant to say all that when he clearly hadn't making the fact he had even more entertaining. "I'm pretty, I see what you mean."

"Then we're agreed," he said dismissively, like he hadn't just called her pretty again and gesturing towards her bike. "Lead the way."


	7. Chapter 7

_Since I was the first and so far only citizen, reporter or otherwise, to interact with Jade Turtle I feel like it would be best to record my first impressions and what not in a blog post for others to see. My interview with him is now publicly available but this would be good to read too. I've got a few thoughts to share of the new super on the block._

 _I would say overwhelmingly the interaction was positive, which didn't surprise me much. Sure he was annoying me for a while there but he seemed to be doing it on purpose, and when I watched the interview back later it was pretty clear that he was just messing around. I caught on quick that he was uncomfortable doing an interview but he went ahead with it anyways which is something I thought was cool. I guess he knew being a superhero getting away from press was going to be pretty hard, and he also was already aware of who I was and what my intentions were. As I mentioned in another post Ladybug mentioned me_ _ **specifically**_ _to Jade Turtle beforehand._

 _Right off the bat he was reserved and uneasy but the more we talked the more he loosened up. He was comfortable enough to mess around and tease me a bit, and surprisingly it felt pretty natural. I'd say that was the most surprising thing about him. He was very easy to talk to. I don't know if that's because he's new or what, but I'll admit I had been a bit star struck at first. I mean, it's a new superhero. However the more we talked I was eventually about as relaxed as he was. I'd say that's my main take away, he is really approachable. Even as he gets more adjusted and is in the public eye a lot more I can really easily see him being the most approachable of the three heroes. Now that isn't to say the other two aren't, no way, what I mean is that he isn't quite as intimidating. I've had loads of people send me messages saying they had an opportunity to talk to Ladybug and Cat Noir but were too nervous to. This isn't really something I can see being true for Jade. Ladybug and Cat Noir always have been and always will be heroes of the people, but I anticipate Jade Turtle having a special and slightly different connection with the people of Paris, however that's just my guess. I know I felt comfortable enough to tease him back and even give him a hard time fairly soon after meeting him. I know I handle social things different then a lot of people though, so I'll leave further speculations up to you guys._

 _So in conclusion I'd say that Jade came off as a very natural and humble guy who took his responsibilities very seriously but also was willing to have fun with it. I'd say, in all honesty, if you are looking for a better image of how Jade is just imagine a fusion between the behaviors and ideals of Ladybug and Cat Noir. He's committed and trustworthy like them both, aware of his responsibilities to the city and his interactions with the people like Ladybug but also willing to crack jokes, have fun, and flirt like Cat Noir. Haha, that's something worth mentioning too, watch out ladies. Cat Noir isn't the only hero with a penchant for compliments and dashing smiles._

 _So that's my take away from the new guy. He's humble, approachable, friendly, flirty and a little lame, but in a good way. He's the sort of guy it would be easy to be friends with, even if he did drive you up a wall sometimes just for a laugh. I hope I get to meet him again sometime soon._

 _Until next time!_

Nino read over Alya's blog post with a slightly red face as he waited for Adrien in front of the school before class started. When he looked up pretty much _everyone_ had their phone out, talking about Alya's latest updates. Everyone was blown away that she had gotten so much information one on one, even local news channels were running her interview with him in place of any official ones.

It seemed good, everyone's reactions were positive and the city seemed excited to have him on board which was kind of… crazy. And awesome. He was pretty happy with it to be honest, she had essentially given him a glowing review, but it was one aspect in particular that was making him want to hide behind something.

Alright, no one knew that it had actually been him talking to Alya last night, so when she had blatantly declared that he had been flirting with her it wasn't a big deal. Except, saying that _no one_ knew was inaccurate. To be more exact, two people knew, and dealing with them was going to be _awful_.

Nino squirmed in place, twisting the strap of his messenger bag as he tried to stop being so embarrassed. Even Wayzz's comfort pats did nothing to soothe him.

He hadn't been flirty, honestly it wasn't- ugh. He had just sort of _said_ it, that she was pretty but to him it hadn't even occurred to him that it might be flirtatious to say that because… he felt his face heat a bit more at his reasoning.

His reasoning was that it was true so it shouldn't have been a big deal for him to say it. To be totally honest he had been pretty entertained by how excited she was to talk to him, knowing he was just Nino and that Alya would never ever treat him like that normally. They were just friends, but in that instance he was a superhero worth interviewing and it had been funny to him. He was having fun, being Jade Turtle instead of being Nino for a second. He hadn't actually gotten to experience that yet because the only two people he had interacted with _as_ Jade up to that point had known him as Nino beforehand so nothing was different. Alya was the first person who saw him as a totally different guy.

So had he been a little more confident, _yes._ Did he walk her home? Yes he did, but that was a safety thing more than anything else but now he knew how that looked. He _wasn't_ a flirt, even associating that word with him was laughable. He was a mess with girls he couldn't get it together ever to even say hello let alone anything that could be described as _flirting._ But… then again.

He remembered his recovery, saying, "Are you saying you aren't?" in order to shield himself somewhat and play it off but hadn't that been… smooth? Okay probably not, smooth was probably generous but it was better than nothing. And if Alya saw it as flirtatious then she hadn't exactly rebuffed him, which is something he always saw as practically guaranteed if he were to ever try. On the contrary she had seemed… flattered by it? And surprised definitely, but not mad or weirded out.

Oh man.

Nino really wanted to go home, even being in the same classroom as her was going to be crazy awkward for him, but she wouldn't even know why. Well actually, the main reason he wanted to go and hide is because he could just _see_ Adrien's grin. Oh god and Marinette's too, he could picture them so easily.

Nino swallowed as he saw Adrien's car pull up, bracing himself for whatever amount of hell his day was going to include.

"Stand strong," was Wayzz could offer, along with a final comforting pat from his hat before Adrien's car door opened.

When Adrien stepped out he immediately looked towards Nino's usual spot, that grin he had been anticipating already on his face. To Nino's dismay Adrien had his phone in his hand, quickly shutting the car door and sprinting over to where Nino was waiting for him.

" _Well,_ " Adrien started, waggling his phone as he approached with a raised eyebrow, "you got a nice review."

"Mm," Nino hummed dismissively, looking away but already feeling the heat crawling up his neck.

"Humble…" Adrien listed, scrolling through the post, "approachable. Friendly."

"That's not the part you're talking about and we both know it," Nino said with a sigh, resigning himself to his fate and meeting Adrien's _ecstatic_ expression. "Just say it."

"You were _flirting_ with her?" Adrien immediately asked, voice low and leaning on the same space of wall Nino usually did. "Wasted no time!"

"I _wasn't,"_ Nino denied uselessly. "I complimented her that's it."

"Uh, no," Adrien pushed, waving his phone again. "I saw that video, those smiles? Nuh uh, don't even lie to me. You looked at her like she put the stars in the sky."

Nino blanched, feeling like someone lit a fire underneath him as he vehemently said " **I did not!** "

Adrien's grin just grew, enjoying Nino's reaction as he said, "Okay maybe not quite that far but come on man, you should watch that video back yourself if you haven't yet."

Nino was stewing, grumbling a little under his breath before he said, "I paid her a compliment, walked her home-"

"-you walked her home?"

"And that's it," Nino soldiered on. "Don't look for something where there's nothing."

"Didn't seem like nothing to me-" Adrien caught Nino's glare and just chuckled, tucking away his phone and holding up one hand in surrender, "but okay, okay if you say so. Hey man, you've got a mask, there's no risk if that's what you're scared of. And from the way she was leaning into you I'd say she was receptive."

Nino's expression said very clearly, 'I'm going to turtle bash your face in if you don't stop,' so Adrien just laughed, grabbing him by the shoulder and guiding him inside. Adrien's humor couldn't be dampened even by Nino's embarrassment fueled irritation, so Nino eventually asked, "What's got you so chipper?"

"Seeing my buddy thrive with his new life isn't enough?" Adrien joked, smiling at him before giving in, a little bashfully admitting "Alright well. I didn't watch the interview alone. Lady came over last night."

Nino's first reaction was to huff and say, "Oh good she's seen it too," before he shook his head, elbowing Adrien lightly as they walked. "Well that's good man. Are you guys good?"

"We're great," he said quickly, his face splitting in a huge smile again and Nino bit back a chuckle.

What a doof.

"Better than great. It's finally not… weird. We could just hang out and talk. It was really cool, and we had a good time talking about the interview. I'm not just ribbing you man, it was good. You left a really good impression. The whole city is pumped now."

Nino hesitated a little with responding, fidgeting with his miraculous before saying, "That's good. That's what I was going for."

Adrien clapped him on the shoulder, saying genuinely, "You're doing great man. Don't stress."

"Mm," Nino hummed, walking into the classroom with a set expression. He wasn't trying to brush him off, he was just more focused on dealing with what came next.

Nino wasn't surprised to find Alya surrounded by their classmates, everyone asking about her interview with Jade Turtle. As he moved to sit down it was incredibly surreal to hear everyone talking about him.

"So did he seem cool?" Alix was asking, one foot up on Alya's seat. "The fact that he can skate on his shield is _so_ awesome."

"Yeah," Alya said surprisingly, flipping through stuff on her phone he couldn't see when he and Adrien turned in their seats. "He was cool, but easy to talk to. He seemed the most like a normal guy but I still wouldn't pick a fight with him. I'm excited to see what tricks he can pull when a fight comes."

Nino looked over to see Marinette smiling at him so he quickly looked away again, however she still managed to tease him without even talking to him directly.

"So Alya, I was going to ask you about this before but you said he was flirty?" Marinette asked, leaning forward on one elbow. Alya looked up from her phone but didn't seem too caught out (where as Nino wanted to die), smirking easily.

"Yeah, but nothing crazy. It was mostly cute to be honest, not nearly as bad as Cat Noir."

Nino had to keep from smirking too much himself, still pretty embarrassed but enjoying the flash of a pout he caught on Adrien's face.

God this was awful but at least he got to take Adrien down with him.

"What did he say to you?" Rose asked in her high pleading voice, giant baby doll blue eyes begging for a romance story.

Alya waved her hand dismissively, but to Nino's confusion she was still smiling a little. "He complimented me, said I was pretty. Walked me home, gentlemanly type stuff."

A lot of the girls in class were talking about how cute that was or charming or what have you, but Nino was silently defending himself in his brain as he turned back around.

'It was DANGEROUS for her to go alone, that's it. Geeze man… I was just worried about her.'

It was the next thing that really caught him off guard.

"Oh he's really handsome isn't he?" Rose was saying, giggling to herself. "I don't know what I would say if a hero paid attention to me like that!"

Nino was staring at his desk, heat spreading up his neck as Alix sort of agreed in passing. Ah man this was weird, this was weird and embarrassing. How did they deal with people talking about them all the time when they were right there?

Oh shit hadn't he said Ladybug was hot once?

Had he thought that or said it out loud? When was that? Oh man. That must have been weird for everybody.

"Don't fawn over him yet," Kim said tersely, arms crossed. "We don't know if he's some useless pushover. We'll see when an akuma pops up what he's really made of."

Nino felt his stomach drop at those words, acutely aware of both Marinette and Adrien shifting in their seats as well as Wayzz fidgeting in his hat.

'Guess we will…' he thought to himself, wanting to go home even more than before.

He was tense, hoping against hope one of the duo wouldn't speak up to defend him he just wanted the subject to drop, but surprisingly him once again it was Alya who spoke.

"Just you wait," Alya said, looking at Kim with a smirk. "Jade is going to show everybody what he's got. I've been obsessed with heroes since I was a little girl, I follow every comic series and run the biggest superhero blog there is, and just talking to him? If he's not a hero I don't know who is, you can just tell."

With that Nino's alter ego finally fell from conversation, everyone separating and going back to their desks. Adrien had attempted to gain his attention but he didn't acknowledge him, pulling out his notebook to get ready for the morning lecture, or at least make it look that way. Even as Ms. B walked in and greeted everyone he didn't actually get a pencil.

Nino stared blankly at his notebook, occasionally looking towards the board in an equally as distracted manner so his teacher didn't call on him.

' _If he's not a hero I don't know who is.'_

Nino ran his thumb nervously over his bracelet, feeling the lines making up the turtle shell design as he moved it. Now was one of those times where it felt heavy to him.

Sometimes now he didn't notice it at all, which was strange. Seeing Wayzz float by wasn't weird or startling, it didn't even look out of place. Other times he might notice it shift on his wrist, like it didn't quite fit him, and something in his chest would feel cold. And sometimes he couldn't not think about it, constantly aware of how heavy the jade felt.

It was a bit different though then all those times it had felt that way before. Whenever it had felt heavy it was like it was crushing him.

Now it felt like he was holding it.

It was still heavy, don't get him wrong it was still overwhelming and insane but it wasn't crushing him like it had before. Part of him felt like it was thanks to Wayzz, and another part thought it was thanks to Marinette and Adrien. And since last night, he sort of felt like he owed it to Alya too.

She had looked at him like he was a superhero, she was the first person to see him that way, and to her he didn't look out of place at all. He recalled the glimpse of himself he had caught when he first transformed, reflected in a store front window. For that one second he hadn't known it was him that stranger seemed tall and powerful, he looked at someone who could stand next to Ladybug and Cat Noir on not look scared out of his mind.

Nino was still scared… but he was also Jade Turtle. He was a hero now and when the city called out he would answer. He didn't know how he would do it, he wasn't even totally sure he could, but he knew he would try.

That made him feel better than anything else had.

* * *

Across Paris in a small room with mats across the floors and screens along the walls, an old man ambled towards a phonograph.

It didn't play music, or perhaps it did, but he had never used it for that. As he approached he reached back into the horn like shape of the music player and very gently removed an old match box.

Fu settled the matchbox in his palm, smiling at the old spool of thread that had acted as a pillow once for an old friend of his. Slowly, he set it down on the surface next to the phonograph, old eyes dragging across the innocent looking item that held great secrets before walking away, limping towards a cup of tea left to steam on a low table.

The limp irritated him but it was unavoidable. While the cane he usually carried with him had originally been for show, for the first time in his long life he actually needed it from time to time. Not always, oh no he wasn't frail, but sometimes in moments like this where he was on his feet for too long old wounds would start to ache and his hip would protest.

Not bad for a man who was almost two centuries old.

Fu settled down onto the floor, pulling his cup of tea into his hands before looking back at the now empty matchbox some distance behind him.

"I know you are happy," he said aloud, voice calm and heavy. "Nino is a good lad, I have faith that he will do well. I have no doubt he will pursue the path I once did. I hope you will guide him on that path as you did for me."

Fu fell silent, his words meeting no one's ears but feeling good to say none the less.

"A storm is brewing Wayzz," he murmured after a while, looking down at the swirling steam rising from his cup. "And when it breaks it will be dark… and it will be violent. He's made an enemy of Hawkmoth more potently than the others have managed, and I fear what such personal ties can bring to his doorstep. While the fate of Paris might rest with Ladybug and Cat Noir… it will be young Nino who holds the key pieces to victory. I detest that something like this is necessary… saying any kind of suffering is necessary has never sat well with me. Perhaps I'm just old."

The old man hummed quietly, his eyes heavy.

"I have faith… I do not believe he will make the same mistakes I have. I have said before that turtles only move slowly because it is how they chose to live their lives, but I wonder too if it is because their shells are too heavy. There are legends of great turtles carrying whole nations on their backs, perhaps slowed but never stopped."

Fu paused, feeling his age more in that moment than any limp could have managed.

He turned, looking again at the disguised resting place of the miraculous stones that remained. The ladybug and black cat miraculous had found suitable homes with worthy heroes. The butterfly had been poisoned and stolen, the turtle was finally active again. The bee and the fox still lay dormant, and the peacock remained caged, vibrant feathers dying one by one.

"I'm too old dear friend…" he said quietly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Too old… But a new guardian, once trained and strengthened… I have faith he can do what I could not. And though he never should have had to, he can bear greater weights then any have ever borne before."

Fu opened his eyes, ancient and wise, tired yet still showing mirth. And the old man breathed deeply, well aware of how silent the room was when he was alone.

"Stand strong young guardian. You are stronger than you think."


	8. Chapter 8

Near the center of the city of Paris a daycare resided near a cute public park. Pigeons settled on every available roost, and young children anywhere from the ages of five to ten were playing games in the sunshine.

However there were three boys who were intent on playing a darker game, snickering to each other as they ganged up on a seven year old boy who looked close to tears.

"What a baby!" one of the boys laughed, walking forward a step to watch the little boy flinch, all three of the bullies laughing. The leader of the small group was a pudgy beady eyed brat with more cruel intentions then he had teeth.

The young boy couldn't have been older than seven but he was still trying to be brave, clenching his fists and saying in a wavering voice "Shut up!"

"Hey don't talk to me like that!" the leader barked, pushing him again, snarly cruelly before saying "Don't you know to be nice to your elders little baby? What a little wuss! Still scared of the dark!"

The two henchman he had backing him up laughed, picking the little boy up just so they could push him again but the boy wriggled away, running towards the gate at the end of the park and sprinting for the daycare building.

He was crying as he shot up the steps, ignoring any adults that shouted after them in favor of running. He knew they were following, all three of them and he just wanted to hide. The bullies were shouting his name, running up the stairs in pursuit.

"Where you gonna hide Cheney? Where you gonna hide that won't make you cry like a baby?!"

Cheney barreled forward, sobbing as he fell to his knees and ignoring the sting in them as he dug through his backpack. It was a Ninja Turtles backpack, but the older boys picked on him for that too so he left it behind, grabbing only a small flashlight and shouting behind him, "Leave me alone!"

Stopping to rummage through his bag only gave the older boys time to catch up to him, and the two cronies picked him up, laughing as the little boy cried.

"Put him in the closet!" the leader laughed, pointing towards a closet for the kids' jackets. To the little boy though it looked horrible, like a dark gaping mouth meant to swallow him whole.

"Stop it!" the little boy cried, clinging to his flashlight as he sobbed, "Please don't please, please!"

"Time out will make you toughen up," the leader sneered, laughing as his friends threw the seven year old roughly onto a fallen pile of coats.

When the door slammed shut and was locked from the outside the little boy's entire world was plunged into darkness, and he screamed. He wailed and cried and cowered, hyperventilating as he saw thousands of horrible monsters coming for him in the darkness around him.

He fumbled for his little flashlight, sobbing as he flipped it on and cowered around the light desperately.

He hated being afraid, he hated it. The boys had found out when they found his flashlight, digging through his stuff to tease him some more. It had been given to Cheney by his mother, so that he would never be afraid of being caught out in the darkness.

It was so awful… so dark and horrible. To Cheney darkness was the more terrifying thing, and those boys were walking shadows, monsters who needed cruelty to survive in the light.

The beam of light shook with his hands as he cried, terrified still even as the boys ran away to play another game of theirs. It was when those monsters left that the boy spotted another, a black squirming insect squeezing under the door.

It didn't matter how loud Cheney screamed or how much he cried, monsters came with darkness It was just a fact, and he was trapped. Thrown into darkness by those boys he hated so much…

 ** _NightLight… I want to let you out, back into the light. I will give you the power to shun all shadows, and I will let you back into the sun. But first, you have to promise me that you will carry out a small task of mine. What do you say child? There is no more reason to cry._**

"I'll do it please just let me out," he sobbed, chest heaving as he pleaded, "Let me out, let me out!"

 ** _As you wish._**

* * *

Nino reached out ahead of him, gently touching the bottom of the Seine River and pulling himself forward, looking above him through his goggles in awe.

'Wayzz…' he thought to himself, though he knew Wayzz could hear while he was transformed. 'This is epic.'

' _I thought you might enjoy it,"_ Wayzz chuckled, mostly leaving Nino to explore on his own.

Through the protective view of his goggles Nino could see the shimmer of sunlight far about him off the ripples in the river water, far down the way he could feel the disturbance of a boat slowly cutting through. He didn't feel out of breath, he didn't even feel like he was holding it, he was just under the water as if it were as easy as standing on the sidewalk.

'How long can I stay down here?' he asked, kicking with his feet and gently touching the river floor to guide him. He was amazed at how effortless it was to swim, the shell on his back creating no drag like he had expected.

' _Depends,'_ Wayzz answered. ' _If you are moving around a lot you would need to go up for air every ten minutes or so, but if you just laid down here to relax you could stay beneath the surface for several hours.'_

 _'_ That's crazy!' Nino thought as he experimented, swimming faster now and effortlessly flowing through the water. 'This feels so good too. I've always liked swimming but this is completely different… it's weird.'

 _'I'm glad you like it,'_ was all Wayzz offered.

Nino turned upside down, his shield only an inch away from the bottom as he coasted along, watching the sunlight seep through the water and the blurry distance images of people and buildings passing by.

'Can people see me?' he asked, looking around him and noticing how clear it was for himself. He never remembered the river water being this clean.

' _Probably not. Your goggles enhance your vision in several ways, they ensure that you can see clearly in most circumstances. The water would look much more clouded then it does for you. At night you'd be utterly invisible.'_

'Cool,' Nino thought, kicking a little harder and enjoying the surreal feeling of the water. His super suit had the same effect he imagined a wet suit would have, his hood having essentially vacuum sealed itself around his hair as soon as he went below the water. He couldn't breathe underwater but he didn't really need too, it was the weirdest feeling. He really did feel like he could just stay down there for hours.

Nino watched as a large boat passed above him, sitting on the river floor to watch through the watery filter as the city continued to live. It was silent down there, or at least quiet, every sound that came through was muddled and distant.

Nino found the wall of the canal to lean against, sitting as normally as he would on a park bench a good thirty feet underwater. His buoyancy was perfectly controlled as well, it was completely effortless.

'This is nuts…' he thought to himself, and to Wayzz. 'I love it.'

Wayzz chuckled, and Nino glanced down at his activated miraculous with a smile.

' _I thought you might. It can be peaceful and secluded, but it also has its uses in the field. It depends on your intentions.'_

Nino's thoughts mulled and poured over themselves, eventually quieting and leaving him to enjoy the river. He closed his eyes behind his goggles, resting his head against the wall.

' _Are you alright?'_ Wayzz eventually asked after several minutes of silence, his voice gentle and earnest.

'Yeah, surprisingly. I'm… surprisingly alright.' Nino hesitated, trying to explain before settling on, 'I think I'm okay with this. More on my feet now you know? When an akuma comes I'm going to do my best.'

' _I'm very happy to hear that,'_ Wayzz said warmly. ' _And very proud. You would make a good Guardian, if that is something you chose.'_

Nino's eyes opened, staring at the sunshine as it was broken up by the water and feeling a little restless, so he started swimming again.

'Guardian,' he thought. 'You've mentioned that, when I first met you. Jade Turtles are usually Guardians yeah?'

' _Correct,'_ Wayzz confirmed, tone subdued.

'Is that something you want me to do?'

Wayzz was quiet for a little, Nino navigating up river with no trouble at all as he waited for a response.

' _It is a heavy title,'_ Wayzz eventually said. ' _And there are things about accepting that position that you should be aware of. For one, it is a life appointment. You would be expected to carry out your duties well into your old age.'_

'Explains why the other Jade was so old,' he thought simply, focusing more on where he was swimming.

' _There is something else,'_ Wayzz said eventually, his tone heavy enough that Nino stopped, drifting with the gentle current as he looked towards his bracelet.

Finally, after a long stretch of time, Wayzz said, ' _The miraculous stones affect their wielders to grant them powers. My stone is attached to you now that you have accepted the role of Jade Turtle, as it is attached to your friends now that they have accepted the roles of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The role of Guardian is an important one, and it has fallen to my Jade's t uphold because of one of the effects of their stone.'_

Wayzz stopped and Nino watched his bracelet, wondering what about it was so heavy on Wayzz's mind.

' _The miraculous of the turtle elongates the wielders lifespan and allows them to live almost triple the lifetime of a normal human. The other Jade you met, my previous master, will be turning 187 in December.'_

For the first time since being below water Nino felt out of breath, kicking up towards the surface to come up underneath a bridge, startled and saying aloud, "What?! Are you serious he's almost _two hundred!?_ "

' _Yes,'_ Wayzz answered, tone wary as Nino was spotted by a few citizens and quickly dove beneath the water again. ' _His name is Fu, though most of the kwamis refer to him as master.'_

Nino dove, circling beneath the bridge aimlessly as he thought through what that meant.

'Wait you're just ratting on his identity? I guess I still don't know who that is so it doesn't really matter but like… Wayzz,' he thought, staring at his bracelet again. 'It just lets you live longer? Just like that?'

' _Yes. It does not change the aging process drastically, you will still mature and grow into adulthood as anyone else would. It is in the life stage you would refer to as 'elderly' that is the most affected. You remain more functional and stronger than many other old people would be, and can persist for many many years past any other citizen. It is only because of that fact that I didn't mention it to you right away. It is not affecting you now, it would be another hundred years before it came into play but…'_ Wayzz hesitated. ' _It is something to bear in mind.'_

'So, I- … I would just live another hundred or hundred and fifty years longer?' Nino thought almost incoherently, feeling a really… disorienting mix of emotions. 'I- that's crazy! That's insane! I-it's cool I guess but… wow.' He stopped swimming, feeling like how he imagined a turtle would feel before it pulled its head into its shell. Something settled in, cold and dense.

'What about everybody I know?' he asked. 'I would just outlive them?'

' _If you decided to take on the role of guardian,'_ Wayzz answered slowly. ' _Then yes. You would.'_

Nino didn't respond, he didn't know how. What do you even say in response to that?

'Wayzz. Wayzz I-'

' _It's okay,'_ Wayzz said quickly, ' _it's overwhelming I know, that's why I didn't tell you. You are so young Nino, I don't expect you to make that choice now. Like Plagg and I said before, this is a choice years down the line. Fu was well into his thirties before he accepted training to be the guardian.'_

'I- … so I don't have to give an answer now?' Nino clarified, his heart pounding in his chest.

' _You don't, you have time. I'm sorry to have startled you but… I wanted to tell you. It felt dishonest not to.'_

'No… you're alright dude. That's just… crazy is all. I need to think about that… for like awhile.'

' _Of course young master,'_ Wayzz answered genuinely, and Nino fought to urge to take a deep breath, since all it would get him is a lung full of water.

Nino was drifting slowly in the current near the river floor, lost in deep and twisted thought. Thoughts too big for a fifteen year old kid. He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he did and trying to clear his head. That was way too intense to deal with now, no way. Wayzz said he could wait so…

He opened his eyes, looking up again and hoping to catch sight of the calming sunlight, where instead he saw the blurry indistinct image of several people at the river's edge, wildly waving their arms.

'What?' Nino thought, Wayzz expressing similar confusion as he headed closer to the surface. As he got farther away from the bottom he became aware of their shouting and pushed himself faster, his head breaking the water and letting him hear clearly.

They were shouting for him.

"Woah woah!" Nino said, startled, kicking towards the edge and jumping out. There were four citizens, two of them the ones who had seen him before, and all of them look scared. "What's up?"

"Jade!" a woman pleaded, pointing down the street. "Please you're a hero too! There's an attack, at a daycare! All those kids are in danger, please you have to do something!"

Nino froze, eyes going wide as he was faced with these four people who looked at him like he would have answers, like he would protect them. And he became more and more aware of the mask that made them think that, and who he was supposed to be right then.

Jade Turtle looked down the street, heart hammering in his chest as the citizens pleaded again, wondering why he hadn't moved. Even from so far he could see something like… light. Huge giant flashes of white light and people running away shouting. Then he saw a mother, crying and calling for police.

 _All those kids are in danger._ That's what she had said.

 _You're a hero too._

"U- I-" Jade faltered, shaking his head and gritting his teeth, before suddenly he reached back and grabbed his shield. "Okay. I-I'm on it."

The four citizens cheered, jumping to the side as he threw his shield down and jumped forward, instantly rocketing through the now vacant streets and weaving between abandoned cars. And every foot closer he got to the screams and flashes of light the more afraid he got and the tighter he clenched his teeth, forcing himself to continue.

His hood had loosened back up to its usual form as soon as he had left the water, fallen to his shoulders now as he headed forward.

'I can do this,' he thought, hands shaking as he balanced himself, turning another corner. 'I-I'm a hero too. I can…'

He could see the white light twisting shadows even from where he was, and now he could hear the sounds of fighting, the others already there.

What was he doing… who was he kidding? How could he do this? How the hell was he expected to do this!?

He was just a **_nobody_**.

' _No,'_ Wayzz corrected him, his voice deep and gentle. ' _You're wrong. You're a hero. Look at them,'_ he said, referencing the people he passed. ' _Look at how they see you. You have power they do not. It is heroes who use that power, and even through your fear you head forward.'_ They turn a corner, one more turn away from an area that was permanently glowing almost too bright to look at. ' _You have greatness in you, and the power to protect. Now fight for these people, and protect your friends.'_

And Jade turned the final corner, drifting the turn on his shield and absorbing a hundred different things at once as fear tried to paralyze him.

The fight was taking place in the street, the high bank of the buildings all around them making like a box that was absolutely saturated with light. It was blinding and powerful, like a supernova in the middle of the road. Ladybug and Cat Noir were there, shielding their eyes and trying to move, but forced to dodge barely able to see as pure white beings lunged forward. They came from the center of the light, riding out from the pure white spot in the middle no one could even look at. All of them were different, complex imagined things all ready to fight. Some were wolves, others were knights on horseback. Two more still looked like… strange pure white glowing copies of Ladybug and Cat Noir, sprinting forward and ready to fight their blinded counterparts. It was a weird collection of things chosen to defend whoever had been possessed, which Jade could only assume was the person responsible for the source of the light.

He jumped forward, reaching out and feeling his shield attach to his arm as he shielded his eyes, trying to see. Cat Noir noticed him first, turning around and shouting out over the sounds of wolves howling and knights taunting, "Jade!"

Ladybug turned too, her eyes watering as she squinted to see her friend, fighting to see just like she was before she was forced to roll, and dodging the great sword of a pompous knight.

Jade Turtle held up his shield, providing at least partial shade for himself as he blinked, shaking his head. Then Wayzz spoke to him.

' _Your goggles,'_ he reminded him, ' _they'll adjust at your command! Use them to see!'_

"Wh- oh, my- yeah!" he said aloud, focusing for a moment in a way he wasn't totally sure would work. How did one… magic. How did someone perform magic? But it worked, the lenses of his goggles shifting and tinting until even when he looked out from his shield, he could see clearly.

Just in time to see a pure white knight swing it's sword at him.

"Woah!" Jade shouted out, twisting the shield on instinct and flinching at the grating noise of the white steel skidding off the side, creating sparks when it bounced off the asphalt. The knight was jarred, staggering and Nino tensed, staring at it in fear as it prepared to attack again, and once more on instinct Jade poured all of his strength into his arm and slammed the shield into its chest.

The close range impact was so sudden and intense, that the apparently hollow suit of armor not only collapsed but practically _exploded_ , pieces of armor flying out as the sword skittered across the floor. And Jade stood there blinking, confused.

"Holy _crap!"_ Cat Noir shouted, whooping enthusiastically as he batted away a small pack of wolves attempting to dismember him. "Nice hit dude!"

"Uh," he hesitated, looking around him. "Thank you?"

His vision was clear, everything slowed down as adrenaline pumped through him. Anything outside of the supernova center of light was pitch black, his vision adjusted so he could see through the glaring light. He could only see his friends because they were lit up, forced to turn their backs to the brightness so they could even somewhat see their enemies. And Jade tensed as he saw a dragon like creature barrel towards him, running away from the center of the light. Away from the Akuma.

Jade looked up, looking over the shoulder of a horrific reptilian monster…

To see a little boy. Dressed in white, holding a flashlight.

Jade was thrown backwards as the dragon slashed at his shield, the force sending him into a harsh roll that left him gasping for breath. His arm bracing the shield ached and he scrambled to sit up, the beast already on top of him and slamming down on the shield, pinning him to the ground.

"Jade!" he heard Ladybug call out, getting thrown back herself as soon as she was distracted, but Nino focused on himself, fighting to remain calm, to think of anything.

"Make it grow!" he suddenly heard, the familiarity of the voice sending a spike of panic through him that had nothing to do with the dragon. "Throw it off!"

Jade didn't have to look up to know who it was, to know who the _idiot_ willingly loitering in an attack zone was. He just follow her advice, and threw the damn dragon through a store front window.

He gripped his shield, so pumped and freaked out he was instantly pissed, turning and catching sight of exactly who he knew would be there, hiding behind a car.

"Alya!" he shouted, angry. "Why the _hell_ are you sitting in the middle of a fight!?"

She was shielding her eyes, having given up trying to film the akuma directly since it was just a plain white screen and focusing on him. She even had the nerve to smile.

"This is where the heroes are," she called, "obviously!"

"You are-" he started to say, stopping as the dragon clawed out and charged him with a roar, taking his absolute terror, irritation, and pure instinctual action into slamming it into the ground as he said, " _unbelievable!"_

Jade stumbled back, the dragon still mobile but extremely dazed, so he took the chance to look around.

Cat was on the ground, kicking up with his legs to throw off the wolf and bo-staffed it into a poof of dust and light. Ladybug was trying to get to higher ground to try and see but was stalled by a few sword wielding soup cans, and Cat Noir was getting irritated.

"I can't even see this guy!" he shouted, readying his staff. "I'm just gonna hit him!"

Jade froze, eyes widening as he looked again towards the center of the light.

There was a little boy, probably only about seven years old, crouching on the street. He was dressed in pure white, not so much as a mask or anything, just him and his little yellow flashlight. He was playing with it, it looked like, making a shadow puppet of a dog against the ground somehow even though the light seemed to be emitting from the boy himself. As soon as he crafted the shadow another wolf formed, sprinting forward to harass Ladybug.

But he was just a little boy.

"Wait!' Jade shouted, sprinting away from the dragon that was slowly regaining its senses, "Cat! Stop!"

Cat hesitated, eyes shut they were so irritated and ears swiveling in Jade's direction. "What!?" he replied.

"It's just a little kid! He's like a little elementary school kid you can't attack him!"

Cat Noir froze, shielding his eyes so he could at least somewhat look at the hero who stopped next to him, peering over his shoulder and turning to defend against the dragon. "What?!" Cat asked again, following Jade's lead and turning to brace for an enemy he couldn't even see yet. "How can you see him!? How do you know!?"

"My goggles!" he rushed to explain, backing up towards the blinding center of light. "I can see him, he can't be more than six or seven dude!"

"Well how are we going to get to him!?" Cat shouted back, squinting at the lizard creature as it charged, ready to dodge. He and Jade rolled to either side of it, forcing it to choose. It chose Jade, it seemed to hold a grudge. "Ladybug and I can't see we can't even get close! The light pushes us back or the minions drive us off!"

Jade focused on the dragon, bringing up his shield and trying to think, heart pounding in his chest as he was suddenly away of the sound of metal crashing to the ground and Ladybug was at his side, a heap of armor in her wake.

"Cat's right!" she shouted over the racket of the enemies, "We can't get close! Jade I'm sorry, but you've got to get to them! Me and Cat will watch your back as you go for the object, just get it and throw it to me!"

"I- by myself!?" he stammered, swallowing and shaking his head again, fighting to be brave. "I- okay. Okay I'll try!"

"You can do this!" Cat called as Jade turned towards the supernova. "I know you can man we're counting on you!"

Jade hefted his shield, gritting his teeth as fear coursed through him, but he looked again at his enemy.

And the little boy was watching him.

Jade Turtle approached slowly, shield raised and ready but still looking at the little boy, matching his eyes. He got within fifteen feet of him before he reacted, standing up and brandishing his flashlight.

"Stop!' the small voice shouted, "Go away! You're a monster monsters aren't supposed to be able to stay in the light! Leave me alone!"

"I'm not a monster!" Jade called out, his heart aching as he saw how very young this kid was, holding a flashlight like it could protect him from the dark. With the power he had now… maybe it could. "Listen little man," he tried, speaking in a soft voice as he kept walking forward, the little boy taking a step back so he stopped. "I'm not a monster, I'm your friend. I'm trying to save you from the monster, it got in your flashlight right? I need you to give it to me."

"No!" the little boy immediately shouted, crouching to make another shadow puppet. "You're a bully! I won't let you put me in the dark again I won't! If I get the miraculous then I won't have to go back to the dark, he promised!"

"He's lying to you!" Nino shouted desperately as something started to form. "Hawkmoth is the bad guy not us! He's the one whose hiding, we are standing right here in the middle of the light and we're okay! We aren't monsters!"

"Shut up!" the little boy screamed, making a claw like hand shape facing down, the fingers twitching like spider legs. "You're a monster!"

Out of the air, a collecting of beams of light and dust pulled together, until sudden the air was filled with a horrible and disgusting hissing and a rhino sized tarantula appeared to defend its creator.

"Oh god," Jade muttered to himself, taking a step back. "Oh man I really hate spiders. Can you make another knight little guy?"

The spider lunged, Jade rolling to the side and brandishing his shield, trying to think. It was massive, its fangs dripping with pure white venom as it skittered towards him, trying to grab at him. It was fast as hell, barreling towards him like a nightmare, a monster in the dark.

He raised his shield to defend, getting pushed back a few feet as its fangs hooked around the edge, trying to pry it away with its legs. He started to make it grow, causing it to shriek in anger and claw at him even faster. But still Jade looked over, even as he was pinned to the ground to see the little boy waiting, watching to see what would happen.

"I know you're scared!" Jade called out on impulse, bracing his feet against his shield and pushing out so the spider stumbled back. "You were scared of the dark right? Is that what happened? The only monster in the dark is Hawkmoth, and with heroes around you don't have to be afraid of him! But you can't listen to him! You have to tell the monster to go away little guy!"

"They threw me in the dark!" he cried, getting emotion and the spider twitched in response, getting more aggressive. "Even when I said please! They knew I was scared and they laughed at me! Hawkmoth let me out, and I promised to get him what he wants!"

"He's using you!" Jade tried to futilely explain, something about seeing a little kid in this spot just… it was indescribably. He wanted to fight, he wanted to win because he wanted this kid to be okay. He didn't want him to be afraid of the dark anymore. "He's tricking you, pushing you around telling you what to do! That's what bully's do, he's a bully and he'll hurt you. Give me the flashlight little guy, I want to help you!"

"No!" he shouted again, crouching down and Jade cursed under his breath, lashing out with his shield and causing the spider to stumble. He slammed down on one of its legs, slowing it down a little, but not before a new and different hiss sounded.

Jade risked a glance away and huffed, looking at the massive towering white viper and saying, "Really?" before dodging, sprinting around but boxed out by the boy's guards.

He couldn't just wait, the kid would keep making these things forever until he got overwhelmed. He needed to make a play for the object but he didn't have enough _time!_

Wait.

Oh.

Oh that's good.

"Wayzz!" he asked, strafing his enemies and trying to stay calm. "How do I use the thing!? The power!"

' _You have to say_ _ **Time Crawl!**_ _Then whatever you hit with your shield will be slowed down to the point they are almost frozen for one minute!'_

"I've got to try that!" he said, sounding a tad desperate as he readied his shield, figuring whatever the hell happened at this point happen.

And then he shouted, **"Time Crawl!"** and sprinted.

Even amid the huge wash of white light he could see the dark green magic gather in his shield, feel it rush through his arms and pour into it as he ran forward. It was a weird, draining feeling, but what he focused on most was sliding between the two enemies, baiting them to stack so he could slam both of them in the face at the exact same time. And both slowed to a crawl in a flash of green light.

"Haha!" Jade laughed as he slid on the ground, looking up at the slow-mo monsters. "That totally worked!"

' _The flashlight!'_ Wayzz reminded him, Jade looking away from his victory and towards the startled and confused boy.

"Right!" he said, scrambling to his feet and running forward, the boy shouting in fear and falling to the floor.

"It's okay!" Jade tried to assure him, dropping his shield to the floor with a clatter and wrapping his arms around the struggling boy, restraining him. "It's gonna be okay in just a sec!"

"Stop it!" the little boy was shouting as Jade ripped the flashlight from his grasp, reeling back and hurling it towards where Ladybug still stood shielding her eyes. "Give it back! Stop it, please!"

"It's gonna be okay," Jade said again, holding him tight and watching as Ladybug fumbled for the item, running towards safer ground before smashing it to the ground. "I've got you little dude, it's okay."

The little boy was still struggling when Jade heard Ladybug call out, a flash of red light washing over the object, and then shooting out towards the boy in his arms. Just like that, the blinding light died and Jade was momentarily plunged into unsettling darkness before his goggles readjusted, returning to normal just as the boy did.

He was little, wearing an orange shirt with blue sleeves that was smudged with dirt from playing games. His jeans were scuffed like his knees had been scraped, but any wound that had been there was fixed up along with everything else.

Jade relaxed his arms, not immediately moving away from the kid as the adrenaline started to wash out of his system, his hands admittedly shaking as he tried to pull together everything that had just gone down. He only snapped out of it when he heard a small voice say, "I- I'm not in the dark?"

Jade Turtle looked down at the little boy sitting before him on the street, his arms close to his chest as he peered up at the stranger surrounding him.

"Who are you?" he asked a little fearfully, looking him over and relaxing a little as wonder settled in his eyes. "Are you a hero?"

"Um," he hesitated to answer, looking at the little kid who… he had just saved. "I guess… I am. Yeah, I'm a hero."

That was weird to say, even after all that.

"And a turtle?" the little boy asked, staring at his shield nearby, his expression lighting up. "A hero turtle? Are you a Ninja Turtle?"

Jade blinked, staring at him for a full second before laughing heartily, all of his tension and fear pouring into the sound and making him laugh extra hard. "A Ninja Turtle? Sure. I'm down for that, you like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles huh?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, forgetting about his strange predicament in favor of his favorite subject. "I love all of them! Leonardo is my favorite though, he's so cool!"

"He's a good leader," Jade agreed, smiling at the little boy. "I like Michelangelo the best."

To his surprise the little boy scrunched up his nose, laughing as he said, "I like him too, but he talks really funny."

Despite everything, all the insanity, Jade raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "Oh what cause he says… let's see. Cause he says, _Cowabunga dude!_ "

The boy smiled so wide it looked like someone had just told him he was going to Disneyland, the little kid clapping his hands and laughing along with the hero.

After a moment and with his permission, Jade stood, picking the boy up and settling him into his arms with the little dude helpfully attaching his shield to his back again. It was only then that he looked around, and saw his friends staring at him.

Ladybug and Cat Noir stood side by side, totally flabbergasted to see him standing there with the little boy in his arms. The sheer _pride_ in their eyes was so… insanely embarrassing that he found himself really wanting to go back to the river again. Cat Noir looked like a father whose son just got the winning goal, and Ladybug looked like she was going to cry. It made the back of his neck feel hot. However looking away wasn't easier, because his eyes settled on Alya who was filming him with shining eyes.

Her mouth was slightly open, staring at him in awe, and also something like… it was hard to put a name to. It was a look like ' _I knew it.'_ That made him feel embarrassed too.

Jade stood in the middle of the street awkwardly, attempting to listen to the little kid in his arms chatter about turtles until he jolted at a beep coming from his wrist.

"Oops," he said aloud, noticing the shading difference of the spaces of the turtle shell, now three out of five. "Forgot about that part."

"You used your power!?" Cat Noir exclaimed, hands in the air. "I didn't even get to see!"

"Get out of here Jade," Ladybug said, stepping forward to grab the kid and smiling at him. "We'll meet up later to talk more about this but seriously… you did amazing. We couldn't have done it without you."

Jade hesitated, looking away and grabbing his hood as if to hide himself, pulling it up as he said, "Well… you guys would have figured something out."

"We owe that win to you," Cat Noir insisted, Ladybug nodding but Jade's attention was caught by the little boy she was holding.

"What's your name?" he asked, leaning forward so that Ladybug had to struggle to adjust. "You saved me right? From the dark?"

Jade stood there for a moment, looking at his friends in turn, including Alya, before he looked back at the little boy and smiled.

"Jade Turtle little man. And you were really brave. You don't have to be afraid of the dark anymore, nothing can get somebody as tough as you. You've got the heroes in Paris watching your back, so don't be afraid all right?"

Jade ignored his friend's proud smiles and just focused on the boy, whose eyes watered slightly as he beamed at him, saying "Okay! I'll be brave, I'll do my best not to be scared anymore. I want to be brave, like you Jade!"

He stood there for another second, stunned as the little boy looked at him like… well.

Like he was a superhero.

His bracelet beamed again and his eyes widened, laughing awkwardly as he backed up. "Oops, sorry little dude I've got to go. Uh," he looked back at the super duo, "I'll meet up with you guys later."

He backed away, grabbing his shield and tossing it down, now a little rushed to get out of sight and zooming forward without any more words. He heard the little boy calling out goodbye, and he couldn't help the smile that found its way onto his face as he passed Alya, the reporter still staring at him in awe as he turned the corner and vanished from sight, darting between buildings a few blocks away before dropping his transformation with a stumble.

Nino stopped in the alleyway, lunging to catch Wayzz as he reappeared in a flash of light and started to fall in exhaustion.

"I'm sorry!" Nino immediately apologized, looking concerned, "I knew it would wear you out but are you cool?"

"I'm alright Nino," he responded, a little out of breath but pushing himself to sit up, smiling happily at his charge. "You did it young master, you were amazing. You were the hero I knew you could be, and I'm very proud."

Nino gaped, floundering for words before he just laughed almost in shock, dropping his head a little and laughing towards the ground.

"I did it," he finally said. "I actually… I fought a giant spider and fifteen foot tall viper."

"I know," Wayzz chuckled tiredly, waving a little fin. "I was there."

"I used a superpower," Nino said, like it was only just now really settling it. "Like an actual one. And I saved a little kid and… helped. I was helpful like, they needed me."

"And they will need you still," Wayzz added, passively letting Nino place him in his hat where he could snooze on his head.

Wayzz fell asleep almost instantly, quietly snoring as Nino just meandered in the alleyway for a moment, heart still racing as he said it again.

"I did it," he whispered, starting to laugh. "I actually did it!"


	9. Chapter 9

That night Nino was sitting on his bed, looking over towards Wayzz's large tank that he was poking his head out of.

"They're going to be embarrassing," Nino muttered, fidgeting with his bracelet.

Wayzz just laughed, shaking his head and making the antenna sway. "They'll just drag you out of here if you don't go see them. They're excited for you! Let them be!"

Nino huffed, looking down at his hands and sighing. Wayzz was right, it was better to just go then give them the opportunity to steal him from his house. It was just- they were so embarrassing! Cooing over him and praising him… he sighed again. It was something he had to deal with, might as well get it over with.

"Ready Wayzz?" Nino asked, standing up and already holding his bracelet with his right hand.

"Yes," Wayzz answered, flying out of his tank and waiting patiently in front of his charge with a smile.

"Alright then, Wayzz! Transform me!"

* * *

Alya turned the street corner on her bike well into the night in the heart of the city, one hand over her pocket and twitching like it was a pistol instead of a gun and she was in an old western standoff.

Jade Turtle's first battle with the duo and he had been instrumental in the take down. It was crazy, the entire attack was off the wall and the akuma was so powerful but it turned out to just be a little kid! The main thorn in her side was the fact that eighty percent of her footage was useless for anything other than audio. Pretty much the only clear shot she had was a very over saturated shot of Jade standing off against the dragon beast, stood in front of her defensively without him probably even realizing it.

The reporter bowed her head slightly, laughing to herself as she continued making rounds through the dark city. Just her luck that the only good footage would be of her getting scolded by a superhero, but she could make up for it. Another exclusive interview with Paris' newest super after his first big showdown will be just what the city is waiting for, not to mention herself. She had so much to ask, but first she had to find him again.

He would probably be expecting her honestly, he seemed to think he had her pegged pretty well. But she was getting a feel for turtle boy too, and her intuition said she would find him _and_ the other heroes somewhere near the Seine again. Turns out, even though it took a few hours, she was right.

Alya stopped her bike near the front door of a set of apartments facing the river, tilting her head and grinning when she heard the distant sound of voices coming from way above her. She propped up her bike absent mindedly, whipping out her phone and backing up until she was pressed against the railing of the river, only just _barely_ getting a picture of the three heroes lounging on the rooftop with their feet over the edge.

She zoomed in, the angle pretty bad but she could still see their faces, Cat Noir and Ladybug on either side of Jade Turtle. Cat nudged at Jade, grinning that trademarked Cat Noir grin as the turtle just rolled his eyes, looking a bit red in the face. Ladybug said something else, Cat Noir agreeing wholeheartedly as Jade couldn't help but smile, pulling his hood over his hair to partially hide his face.

Alya snickered to herself, climbing the railing a little without turning away to get even a slightly better look at them. She was right in her observation before, Jade was a pretty reserved guy. He was no doubt being praised on his first day on the job, which would explain him pulling away into his hood. How adorably turtle like.

Alya gasped when her hand slipped on the metal, forced to shift her weight quickly to keep from falling rather painfully down the stone sides of the river and into the water. Though she managed to not fall she couldn't help the startled sound that escaped her, and when she refocused the shot she got close ups of all three of the heroes looking down at her.

'Smooth…' Alya thought to herself, pushing aside her minor fumble to call out to them, waving one hand. "Hey there! Have a second to spare for the Ladyblog?"

Cat Noir's head tilted, still smiling slightly. Ladybug sighed and crossed her arms, still a bit entertained, but Jade made a motion that could only be described as a huff.

"Alya it's almost 3 AM!" Jade shouted back, leaning his elbows on his knees to see her better. "What are you doing out here?"

She was thrown only for a second by the familiarity, her list of observations about the newest hero flashing through her head and steadying her again. He was a really genuine guy, wasn't too strange for him to address her like friends.

"Same reason as last time!" she called up playfully, grinning at him and lifting one hand to point to her phone. "I'm looking for a story turtle boy! And you look like just the guy to tell it."

"Turtle boy?" she barely heard him say, Ladybug and Cat Noir immediately laughing happily and Alya felt a spark of pride. She admired these people so much.

Cat Noir leaned over, whispering something into Jade's ear which produced an indignant " _Dude!"_ before Cat stood up, opening his arms theatrically and gesturing towards the other male hero.

"He'd love to do an interview! We're very proud of our turtle son, so we'll leave him to you miss!"

"Turtle son!?" Jade said, doubly as indignant this time as Lady and Cat both quickly stood, backing away and laughing at their friend playfully.

"Goodnight Jade!" Lady laughed, pulling out her yo-yo. "Great job today! Get plenty of rest, don't be late for school!"

"Eat your breakfast!" Cat called back, the two only halting to make a cooing very 'proud PTA parent' pose before running off, vanishing into the night.

Alya looked after the duo for a moment, a little disappointed that they bolted but unable to keep from laughing when she zoomed in on Jade's sour and slightly flustered expression. The hero sighed, shaking his head and looking down at her for a moment before rolling his eyes, grabbing his shield.

Alya yelped when Jade fell down the side of the building, rocketing past her and over the railing towards the water, the speed making her hair fly around her as she turned to try and keep him in the shot. He slowed down till he was just coasting, turning lazy circles on the surface of the water as he looked up at her, smirking slightly.

"Did I scare you?" he asked, laughing when she huffed. The hero gestured further down the river, towards a bridge she recognized as their last meeting place. "Meet me in the same place, and bring your bike. You're going home after this."

Alya pursed her lips, not fond of being told what to do but willing to deal with it if it meant getting the interview. She temporarily shut off her recording, sprinting back to the building to grab her bike and quickly pedaling towards the bridge, the hero already leaping up to walk towards their bench.

He was waiting for her when she got there, leaning with his arms stretched along the back of the bench. His hood was still up but he wasn't hiding, the glint of the streetlight shining off his goggles as he waited.

"Well Ms. Reporter," he said, raising an eyebrow as she just stood there. "Did you want to do the interview ooor…?"

"Uh," she said, uncharacteristically caught off guard, "Yeah, just a sec." She shook her head, looking away from his confused expression to set up the camera on the railing like she had last time. It had just been weird, comparing how he looked sitting there now to the last time she had seen him. He was significantly more relaxed, still looking at the camera a little warily but generally unfazed. Whereas his nervousness before had made him seem young to her, his new composure made him appear older.

She made a final adjustment before clicking record, sitting down next to him in the same spot she had the first time they had met. She turned, one leg up on the bench and folded beneath her so she could face directly towards him.

"So," she started, grinning at him and making a gesture towards him as a whole, "Mr. Hero has proven his stuff to Paris, just like I knew you would."

He chuckled at that, looking down at his lap before tilting his face back at her, looking her right in the eye as he said, "Thank you." He grinned, his teeth white and charming when compared to his dark skin. "Nice to know I had your support."

She hesitated for a moment, looking at his expression before forcing herself to respond. 'This is an interview dummy,' she reminded herself with an internal huff. 'He isn't going to give if you don't make him! Don't get distracted.'

"Obviously it was deserved," she said in return, giving her own smile. "You were really amazing out there. I'm serious," she added when he just laughed, looking away. "It was spectacular! I got the impression you were sort of nervous before but you came through for everybody when they needed it most. That's what being a hero is all about. Ladybug and Cat Noir are totally amazing, but I was there too. I'm not sure _what_ they would have done if you hadn't showed."

Jade was still looking away from here, hands woven together in his lap before he looked up at her again, eyes narrowed slightly.

"You _were_ there," he agreed, voice sounding a little stern. "Which you shouldn't have been. I've been looking over all of your footage, you seem to have a habit of being in places you shouldn't."

"Don't change the subject," she countered, crossing her arms. "You really saved the day."

He seemed reluctant to drop it, and she had a feeling he didn't intend to, but instead he just smiled and bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said humbly, that same smile of nervousness and gratefulness visible now. "I did my best. And I'll continue doing my best. I know I'm new but I want people to have faith in me. I won't let anything bad go down."

"Their faith won't be misplaced," Alya said warmly. "Mine certainly wasn't."

She saw it again, that shine of gold in his eyes in the lamplight as he laughed bashfully, running a hand through his hair and dropping his hood back in the process. Just like the first time it caught her a little off guard, something he seemed to have a habit of doing.

Thinking about it like that made her feel a little bashful herself, not something easily managed and she instantly locked it down and screwed it to the floor. Even as she jumped back into her interview with full swing though she felt a bit too warm in her light sweater.

"Can you give the Ladyblog some details of the fight from your perspective?"

They spent the next ten minutes or so talking back and forth, trading details about the combat and his interactions with the already established superheroes. Eventually Alya called it a wrap, happy with what she had and stood to turn off the recording.

As she was checking over the audio she felt Jade walk up behind her, looking over her shoulder at the footage but giving her a sort of stern yet exasperated expression when she looked up at him.

"What is it Ninja Turtle?" she asked playfully, turning to face him and becoming aware of how close he was at probably the same time he did. He took a step back, his stern demeanor marred slightly by the way he rubbed at his neck. She kept her smile though, weight falling on one hip as he thought through his words.

"You shouldn't be out this late by yourself Alya," he said with a sigh, frowning at her. "It's dangerous."

"I'm not out here alone," she said in rebuttal, smirking at him as she stowed her phone. "I'm with you. After that whole conversation you're not seriously suggesting you're not up to the task of walking a girl home are you?"

He tensed, eyes widening slightly and she grinned as she spotted him blushing slightly. "U-uh no, I mean-" he stammered, looking flustered and she couldn't help but giggle a little. "I'll protect you, absolutely."

"Then it's not a problem," she chuckled, walking towards her bike and looking over her shoulder with a smile. "Coming?"

"Uh, yeah," he said after a pause, watching as she climbed onto her bike and hurried to throw down his shell. "Wait up!"

She didn't wait, but it didn't make much of a difference since she wasn't going very fast. He didn't have any trouble coasting alongside her as they headed down the same route they had used the first time.

The pace was leisurely, neither really intending to hurry it along. She mostly coasted, only pedaling every once in a while and focusing mostly on him.

"I appreciate the interview," she said as they went, the hero looking ahead but still acknowledging her with a glance. "Though it sort of seems I have Cat Noir to thank, what with how much the duo was ribbing you."

Jade scoffed, shaking his head before looking over towards her with humor in his eyes but disgust on his face. "Holy hell man you have no idea how embarrassing they've been. I'm actually relieved they left, if they had stayed it would have been ridiculous."

Alya laughed, turning slightly to head down a deserted side street. "Yeah, is that whole 'Turtle Son' thing common with them?"

"That was new," he said with a sigh, coasting beside her. "However the whole proud parents thing has kind of been normal. Basically since they're the resident do-gooders they feel responsible for me since I'm new. I'm doing _fine,"_ he insisted, hand gesturing out wildly and making her laugh. "But they're ridiculous! 'Oh Jade we're so proud! You did so well! We knew you could!' Like, ugh I appreciate it but, kill me, you know?"

Jade looked over when he heard her laugh extra hard, the reporter taking one hand away from the handles to try and smother her giggles. When she looked at him her laughter was practically visible in the color of her eyes.

"Oh man," she laughed, turning down another street. "That's hilarious, and totally adorable."

He huffed, seeming to disagree with the last part which only made her laugh more, until eventually he joined. The sounds of their laughter rattled up the walls of the high buildings, only alley cats around to hear it. Well, and one bug.

On the rooftops over the pair riding through the city Ladybug and Cat Noir crouched low, shamelessly spying and grinning at each other.

"This is so cute," Lady said, practically bouncing in place. "Did you see how nervous they were being while they filmed? It's adorable they totally like each other!"

"Absolutely," Cat agreed with a grin, turning to lean his back against the slanted roof and looking sideways at his lady. "If they aren't into each other than I need to get my eyes checked, they were leaning into each other that entire time! He had her flustered there for a while too."

"She got him back for it," Lady giggled, glowing with excitement for her friends before she asked, "What should we do?"

Cat Noir paused, raising a claw to tap his chin as he hummed. Eventually he said, "Well Nino will kill me if I try anything and he seems to be doing alright on his own. He shoved the two of us off a cliff because we were being stupid, but he seems to be heading in a straight line. I say we leave it alone for now."

He looked over when she didn't respond immediately, struck but how flustered she looked before he reviewed his sentence in his head.

The two of… oops.

"U-uh I-!" he tried, sitting forward so quickly he almost lost his balance before he leaned one hand against the slanted roof. "I just meant that- if you didn't want me too uh… say 'us' I-" he was floundering staring at her red face and feeling wildly out of depths. The longer she didn't reply the more unsure he got which was saying something, but he didn't want to back down from it unless she said otherwise, he wanted to say-

"No," she responded a second later, voice small but a smile still on her face, looking him right in the eye. "'Us' is fine. I like that. Us I mean."

The two stared at each other, Nino's love life falling away in the face of their own as the two heroes stood their bashfully. Finally Cat Noir managed a nervous grin, hesitating only for a moment before boldly reaching out for her hand.

"I like Us too," he said in response, enjoying how she blushed and looked down, still smiling as she accepted his hold on her hand without complaint.

"Us it is then," she said so quietly he almost didn't catch it, his breath catching in his throat as she looked up at him with her shining blue eyes. He swallowed down against his heart in his throat, smiling bashfully as he said,

"Us it is."


	10. Chapter 10

"Children get inside, now go it isn't safe!" a woman was saying, ushering a small group of maybe fifteen or so elementary aged children through an open door. She looked over her shoulder nervously, picking up one of the smaller kids and carrying him inside even as he squirmed.

"Don't be scared!" he was saying, wiggling fiercely to try and get back to the ground, still grinning. "Nobody's got to be scared with heroes around!"

"That doesn't mean we should be outside with supervillains Cheney!" the woman said crossly, only setting him down once everyone was inside and she had her back to the door.

As soon as his little sneakers hit the ground he was running to the window, scrambling up with shining eyes to plaster his hands against the glass and smush his nose against it so he could see. From the vantage point of the daycare there wasn't much to see but he was still grinning happily, bouncing up and down on the windowsill seat cushion.

"Cheney get away from there!" the woman scolded, dashing forward to grab him and looking over her shoulder to bark at a few more children who were getting hyped up by the little boy's antics. But he refused to be calmed, going so far as to laugh when he caught a flash of black, red and green darting over the rooftops outside.

"Don't be scared!" he assured them, turning in the caretaker's grasp to address the other kids in his daycare with shining eyes. He giggled again before proudly declaring, "I'm telling you! Jade Turtle's gonna get them all!"

"And Ladybug and Cat Noir!" another kid added, all of the children cheering and getting hyper, rushing for the windows.

"Yeah sure!" Cheney giggled, snuggling into the care taker's arms. "Them too!"

* * *

Outside rushing over the rooftops of Paris were the heroes of the people, more or less side by side as they talked franticly.

"This thing hits hard!" Cat was saying, staff out and pole vaulting him over the gap between two buildings, Ladybug swinging through the street beside him and Jade on his left.

"And it's not just going for us!" Jade reminded them, expression focused as he looked through the augmented display on his goggles, shifting his weight on his shield to head in a straight line towards the tagged figure a few blocks ahead. The others followed his lead, having learned by now to trust his tracking.

Ladybug swung up, dismounting and rolling along the tile to sprint beside Cat Noir, referring to her teammates. "Its range of attack is huge and it keeps running AWAY. I don't get it is Hawkmoth not going for the miraculous or what?"

"Maybe hot head is going for what he wants first," Cat suggested, crouching onto all fours to clear another gap, positioning himself to sprint along behind Jade as he lead them there.

"Do we even know what the item is?" Jade chimed in, looking down to street level and gesturing for the others to follow him as he leapt off the building, flawlessly continuing to rocket forward as the others let him lead for now. He could see the baddy through the buildings about two blocks away, his goggles coming in handy for the billionth time since he'd started this thing. However as cool as all his extra bits turned out to be when it came to hitting hard and dealing damage it was the other two who won the race.

"We need to figure it out," Lady said, calling out to them as she flew overhead to stand on another rooftop, the bad guy now in sight. "We can't let this go any longer! It's time for an all-out attack."

"That's what I've been saying!" Cat whooped, landing on the same building as her but not waiting, taking the initiative and running straight in, Ladybug not far behind.

"Would you two slow down!?" Jade called in exasperation, having already lost sight of them and groaning as he went around, sticking to the street. Despite the fact that they were well off now Cat still laughed, turning to shout back "You stick to slow and steady turtle boy!"

Jade grit his teeth, banking hard and assessing multiple things at once as he rounded the final bend, coming upon the scene in a way he had started to grow accustomed to, which was insane.

It was big it was bad, and it was incredibly aggressive but that wasn't new. Jade sighed to himself as he rolled up, dismounting from the shield and bringing it up into a defensive position in one go, ready for anything.

Just another day on the job.

It was weird, of course it was. How could someone possibly get 'used to' something like this? But it wasn't totally that, it still took him by surprise every time how insane the fights would get, and it still scared the crap out of him but he was better at… dealing. He did it, there was never hesitation it was his job. The first few times yeah, adapting to a city wide warning actually meaning 'go get it' instead of run and hide was freaking, impossible. It was nuts, seeing giant octopus monster or whatever the hell and thinking 'oh yeah I should probably go deal with that' and not think 'Jesus Christ octopus monster'. For Nino it was usually a combination of both, but still the difference was… startling.

He just… This wasn't him, but it was. It was now. Nino would never do this, ever, no way. Run out and fight things, fight the bad guys save people cut ribbons. He wasn't that guy, at least… he hadn't thought he was.

But he did it, every time. No matter how scary it was he did it now, and he had done it the first time and he said _yes_. And he kept saying yes, every single day was an opportunity to back down and he didn't, and part of him knew he never would. He wasn't going to back down and let Hawkmoth win, he wasn't going to abandon his friends, he wasn't going to do the safe thing.

And Nino had always done the safe thing. The calm thing, the normal thing.

He was just… a guy. But now he was a superhero, and the weirdest thing is that it didn't quite… feel wrong anymore.

Jade rolled, keeping calm as he sprinted around the enemy, prepared to follow Lady's signal and stun the guy so she could move in, Cat on standby to topple a building and give him the opening. It was practiced and fluid, he had fit right in to the dynamic. It had taken a few fights but now, four or five weeks in he was part of the team. He was accounted for in the plans, and sometimes he made the difference.

He kept thinking in all the spaces of the fight about how out of place he should be, and how much he wasn't. He kept thinking about how it was Adrien that was a hero, Marinette who could save the day not him even as he sprinted in, words falling from his mouth to charge his shield with power. He thought hollow thoughts about how he _couldn't_ do this even as he lashed out, slamming into the foe and freezing him in a moment of time so Ladybug could swoop in, distant and repetitive doubts falling silent as the possessed item smashed against the ground.

Thinking about how he wasn't a hero while he saved the day, yet again. Keeping Paris safe.

He was just Nino.

Jade jolted from his thoughts in panic when he felt something clap sharply on his shoulder, the hard points slightly dragging against the material the first thing to alert him to the fact that it was Cat.

"I know that look," Cat Noir was saying, leaning forward to dominate Jade's view as Ladybug purified all the damage done, magic sweeping over and through them as Cat grinned and nodding knowingly. "Still think you're not cut out for this?"

Jade didn't reply right away, at this point hilariously predictable, so he settled with a chuckle as he adjusted his shield and fastened it to his back.

"Don't think that's ever gonna go away," he said honestly, eyes trailing over the victim as he lay collapsed on the ground, Ladybug speaking to him gently. He waited for a moment more, a distant beep hitting his ears and reminding him of his time limit before he said, "But I guess I'm not all that bad at it either."

His friend laughed, shaking his head and sighing dramatically as he collapsed his staff. "How long are you going to keep trying to convince yourself you're not a superhero dude? You've taken to this like a turtle to water," he smirked, "give yourself some credit."

"I'm adjusting," Jade said dismissively, sighing and looking away but Cat wasn't having it, sidestepping into view again.

"It's been two months! No adjustment needed! Get over it," Cat crossed his arms, feigning irritation. "You're great at this, deal with it."

"Oh shut up," Jade muttered, Cat laughing as the turtle started to walk away. "All three of us have our timers on, we can't waste time."

"Oh get a compliment and you run and hide," Cat chastised, laughing again even as the distance grew and his own ring beeped for the second time.

"Shut up," Jade reminded him, rolling his eyes as he turned to walk backwards and still face his friend. "We meeting up tonight?"

To his surprise Cat looked bashful for a second, laughing and looking away as he said, "Uh, actually. I was gonna ask, are you cool with handling patrol tonight?"

Jade stopped, one foot mid step as he raised an eyebrow. "Yeah I can, why though?"

"I'm just, uh," Cat answered slowly, hesitating to answer and slowly looking towards Ladybug who was still with the victim. He gave a very pointed look and head nod in her direction and Jade hummed in understanding.

"Alright bro don't worry about it," he said, giving a thumbs up as he prepared to head out. "Have a good one."

"Thanks man I owe you!" Cat assured him, waving with one hand and the other scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Jade just chuckled, waving dismissively as he finally departed, dangerously low on time as it was.

Jade dedicated his last two minutes to getting as far away as possible, ducking behind a grocer and crouching in an alleyway to detransform. The flurry of magic washed over him and he quickly reached out to catch Wayzz as he fell, cradling the small turtle with a gentle smile.

"Hey buddy, let's go get you some grub yeah?"

"Are we patrolling alone again tonight?" Wayzz asked in a tired voice, sitting up in Nino's cupped hands and looking up at his charge with his large eyes.

Nino shrugged, lifting Wayzz to settle him in his hat. "Looks like it but it's cool. The superdudes need their date nights, I can cover it."

Wayzz hummed, not offering anything else right away as Nino pulled the brim of his hat down, taking only a few more seconds to assure Wayzz was out of sight before starting his walk home.

He sighed, one hand drifting towards his headphones as he considered using them but remembering a moment later as he always did that he couldn't use them with Wayzz in his hat. He really should invest in buds at this point, but silence was alright. He was getting more used to it.

He wasn't tired exactly, it was a weird feeling. His miraculous gave him a lot of power and boosted his body, but it didn't mean that everything he did wasn't exhausting. Using his power had a draining effect on him, like he was pulling his strength into one big blow so whenever he had to use it, which wasn't incredibly often, he was usually down for the count after that. He had asked the others about it but they didn't experience anything like that even when they had first started so he mostly assumed that's where rank came into play. They had higher stones, the top dogs, so they didn't get some of the drawbacks he did. He was made stronger yeah, but not as strong as them and his power took a lot out of him where as they could keep throwing punches for a good while after. Even without his timer encouraging him to wrap things up he could probably only fight well for five minutes after it anyways before he needed a break. Even so though, he wasn't… tired. He was drained but awake, it was weird.

Nino let out another long breath, taking advantage of the traffic in front of him to stretch out his legs and try and relax the muscles a bit. Which he had, which was probably one of the weirdest things about all this. He wasn't ripped but he definitely hadn't been this tone before he got his stone. He had noticed before that both Mari and Adrien were fit as hell but he didn't think a lot about it until he knew who they were. Now that he had spandex and a mask too he saw the changes, most settling in after three or so weeks. His legs were stronger, his arms were tone, his stomach was flat. He looked good, in his opinion, which was nuts. Having the bracelet was one thing but seeing physical changes in himself had been a little… disarming. Not a lot he could do though, not that he would change anything. Just weird.

He dimly realized that he had the right to walk now, barely registering his surroundings as he started to cross the street. He had gotten to know the city stupidly well in the last two months but he still wasn't one hundred percent sure where he was, but apparently he was the only one.

Nino looked up when he heard a noise coming from directly above him, Wayzz shifting in his hat and patting his hair.

"Master?"

Nino looked around to check that no one was nearby before saying, "You know you don't have to call me that Wayzz."

"No," the small voice came again, the kwami shifting again out of sight, restless now. "Master."

Nino paused on the sidewalk, eyes casting about to find a secluded place where he could figure out what the hell Wayzz was talking about before suddenly his hat was knocked off.

Nino jolted, fumbling to catch his hat and turning just in time to watch Wayzz in BROAD DAYLIGHT fly out away from him in the open air.

"DUDE," Nino exclaimed, watching in helpless desperation as Wayzz ducked behind a parked car before looking both ways across the street and zipping out of sight like a tiny green bullet. "DUDE!" Nino called again, stumbling thoughtlessly into the street with his hat in his hands and almost getting car murdered in the process, skipping out ahead of the compact and quickly apologizing before sprinting in the direction Wayzz had gone.

Nino ran down the sidewalk, looking around him in a desperate panic as he saw civilians going about their daily business. Where the hell did he go?! Anybody could have seen him what the hell was he doing?

Nino ran forward a bit farther, heart hammering in his chest as he came to a new street corner, gold eyes scanning every inch of the area to see if he could see anything that could be Wayzz. The little guy was fast, which was misleading.

"Buddy?" Nino called, hesitating to say his name even though it wouldn't mean anything to anyone. He rethought his hesitation and after a moment he was just calling his name, running down the sidewalk. "Wayzz buddy! Dude where did you go?!"

He got no response, the DJ turning on the spot with his hands on his head as he realized he had no freaking idea how to find him. He doubted Wayzz knew the way home but he _ran off_ out of nowhere! In the middle of the day!

"Excuse me young lad," a voice suddenly said near him, old and amused. "Have you misplaced something?"

Nino turned, and less than five or so feet from him was an old Asian man with a smile on his face, ancient eyes somewhat familiar and shining with humor. He had a cane that he leaned against heavily, stood in the center of the sidewalk with one hand over his pocket. What set him apart in Nino's mind though was the red Hawaiian shirt, which stirred up a vague memory from what felt like forever ago.

"Uh," Nino stuttered, shaking his head and looking around again. "Yeah, uh…" He didn't know what to say. I lost my magical flying turtle? "I lost my uh… friend."

"Oh," the old man chuckled, clicking his cane once against the sidewalk. "That's a terrible thing to lose. Though I'd say you've found another."

Nino blinked, settling his cap back on his head and looking away from the old guy in his distraction. This dude was being weird and cryptic, he seriously had something more important to handle, but then he saw the old man raise his hand to shake with a kind smile.

"An exchange of names between friends is fitting," he said with that same mischievous sound in his voice, something obviously funny to him. "But which of yours would you offer? Nino? Or Jade?"

Nino froze, eyes widening and a sharp chill shooting over his body, horror seeping in. He was half a second away from blind panic before he saw something shift in the corner of his eye, Wayzz's familiar green antenna swaying out from behind the old man's wrinkled hand, the other still outstretched expectantly.

"I can give my own first," he said vaguely, taking Nino's shaking hand in a friendly gesture. "I've already given you one, another is not so much more to ask." He chuckled before looking up at the tall boy. "My name is Fu, it is nice to see you again young man."

Nino's breath caught in his throat, the bustle of the street and every other living thing fading out as he started to understand. Confronted right here in the middle of the street, an old man with shining eyes and good humor in every aspect of his being, and the old man with a stone of power standing at the entrance of the Notre Dame as the sky thundered and raged.

 _I've already given you one, another is not so much more to ask._


	11. Chapter 11

Nino tucked his legs beneath him, heart still hammering as he forced himself to take in his surroundings. His default state was to stare at the floor mat and wait until things started making sense, but for the few sparing moments he was alone he tried to take it in.

He lifted his head, one hand tilting back the brim of his hat so he could look above him too at the humble vaguely Chinese home. It had hints of the man's culture strewn around in things like floor mats, low tables and long screens separating the rooms where he did his business and his home. He was in the main room as far as he could tell, a screen on the far wall suggesting a kitchen of sorts or maybe a bedroom, Nino left alone to sit near a long low table and a TV set that was dark.

It was so… weird. Something was driving him _crazy_. Being in this guy's house at all was weird but somehow he knew that wasn't it. It was something else like… He imagined it was what dog whistles must be like for dogs. Maybe not that, that wasn't a good comparison, he couldn't figure it out. There was just something about the room that made him feel… weird. Not even bad or uncomfortable just _weird,_ just **something**. It made him feel… amped, but calm? It was so distracting, he kept glancing around the room like something was going to jump out at him and make it clear, like a stereo pumping out inaudible feedback that was driving him crazy.

Nino flinched when he heard a laugh from the other side of the screen, gradually drawing closer and bringing with it the sound of quiet conversation. Nino fidgeted awkwardly, finding the image of seeing Wayzz confidently out in the open with anyone other than the trio unnerving. But it wasn't like this guy was exactly out of the know… his gaze drifted down to the bracelet on his wrist before he looked back up at Fu as the old man settled down to sit beside him.

Nino swallowed, eyes shifting between his kwami and his predecessor as they faced him and he was reminded vaguely of a parent teacher conference where they team up to teach you stuff.

Jesus this was intimidating.

"Relax Nino," Fu said with a chuckle, that same shine in his eyes as he extended a cup of tea Nino hadn't seen him holding. "It is nice to finally see you here."

"T-thank you," Nino stammered, taking the cup gently and looking down at the steaming green liquid before sipping it gingerly, not liking tea much but not wanting to be rude. It was alright actually.

No one spoke for a moment, Nino sweating bullets for a while until Fu laughed again, mostly to himself. Wayzz chuckled too.

"I've wanted you to meet Master Fu for a while now," Wayzz started, floating between the two of them off to the side slightly to create a triangle like shape. "There is no one better to answer your questions."

"Um, it's an honor sir," Nino said, nodding his head. "I've wanted the chance to thank you, for saving my life. I would have been screwed if you hadn't shown up to help Cat and Ladybug. Thank you."

"No thanks are needed," he said with a smile, setting aside his own cup for a moment. "It was your strength that turned the tide in that cathedral." His eyes practically twinkled as he chuckled. "I merely helped."

Nino laughed a little breathlessly, looking away and shaking his head. "I would have been dead man you say it like you turtle bashing Hawkmoth didn't totally save my life."

"Well maybe," he allowed, grinning at Nino when the boy met his eyes again.

There was a small pause as Nino looked down to have a staring match with his cup and Fu waited patiently, most likely perfectly aware of what Nino wanted to ask. The boy searched for the words, watching the steam for a while before Fu eventually spoke for him.

"No doubt you would like to know why I chose you to take my place," he said, Nino's face snapping up in surprise. "Though I expect the answer is simpler than what you desire."

"What do you mean?" Nino asked quickly, looking towards Wayzz for a moment before looking back.

Fu shrugged, drinking from his cup as he thought through how to explain. After a moment he nodded, holding the cup in his hands as he met the boy's searching gaze.

"You have an admirable spirit," he answered, voice old and methodical. "It was not simply your situation that helped me decide. I'm sure you would be surprised to know I had you in mind to take my place before Hawkmoth ever made his move."

Nino blanched, mouth opening as the old man continued.

"A young man with such unshakeable loyalty even in the face of great consequence and evil. You guarded powerful secrets, and acted selflessly in every instance. Such nobility is easy to see, even in one so young. In the simple things, helping a friend, protecting them," he smiled, "opening the door for an old man. Your actions when your life was in peril only confirmed what I already believed. Even when faced with your own death you did not think to betray your friends, not only out of loyalty to them but also out of loyalty to the people." Master Fu nodded, watching as his words sunk in. "You understood that if Hawkmoth succeeded the world would be at risk, not just your friends. This was clear by your actions, and in your ability to defy his dark power. Even when you stood to lose everything you did what was right." Fu smiled, his tone making it sound like it should have been obvious. "You deserve it."

Nino said nothing, eyes wide as he drew back in shock. He sputtered, looking away and trying to gather his thoughts, Wayzz speaking before he could formulate a response.

"He has made a great Jade Turtle master," Wayzz said, voice filled with pride. "He is more than we had even hoped for. There is no finer Jade to be found."

"I agree," Fu said kindly, a smile clear in his voice. "And the pair of you have gotten along?"

"Oh yes!" Wayzz answered enthusiastically, both of them ignoring Nino's emotional upheaval just a few feet away. "He is kind and considerate, a great friend just as we expected. I am more proud of him then I can say." Wayzz paused for a moment as if considering what else to add before saying, "He got me a tank! Have you seen turtle tanks master? They are excellent!"

"Did you want a tank?" Fu replied. "You should have said, I would have gotten one for you old friend."

"Guys," Nino interrupted them in a thick voice, still floundering for words. "You can't just drop that on a guy like you were telling me the weather."

"I don't see why not," Fu answered with a grin. "It is as simple."

"I don't agree," Nino said in exasperation, but Fu and Wayzz just laughed.

"Soon you'll realize the only one who doubts you is yourself young master," Wayzz said with a chuckle, the DJ totally on his own.

"I- I," Nino tried, Fu's words circling through his head and forcing him to pull down the brim of his cap to give him even a shred of privacy.

 _You deserve it._

"Jade," Fu said after a while, voice suddenly even and calm as he got his attention. When Nino looked up Fu's expression was… he could only describe it as ancient. Balanced.

Fu leveled him with a kind and aged gaze as he let the name hang between them, before finally he continued.

"There is something I would like to ask you. Something I've been waiting to discuss with you until you were more settled. Though today was unplanned, I would not call it too soon. You have proven to me you are suitable for this task." Fu gestured to the kwami in the room. "Wayzz agrees."

Nino was still, pushing back his cap and swallowing again nervously, holding his warm cup in his hands for something else to focus on beside the invisible distraction and Fu's suddenly serious tone. He watched the old man and fought the urge to pull back from how rapidly intense the atmosphere was getting.

Fu waited for a while before he asked, "Since you've come in you've been looking for something." He folded his hands in his lap as Nino looked caught out. "Is there something distracting you?"

"I- I'm sorry sir," Nino stammered, looking over his shoulder. "It's nothing. Just nervous."

To his surprise Fu chuckled, Nino turning back to see the man smiling gently. "It's a pressure, isn't it? Subtle but present." Fu nodded sagely, eyes drifting towards something behind the young boy before he said, "What you are sensing is great power. Magic more powerful than any other force found on earth. It's undetectable by even other miraculous wielders. It is only the Guardian who can sense them, and even some of us in the past have failed to hear their quiet call."

Nino felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, the boy instantly looking around the room again at the distant hum he now knew was magic before he looked back at Fu with wide eyes. "Us?"

Fu didn't respond immediately, thoughts far away. Finally he hummed and said, "No doubt Wayzz has briefly explained. My role was not only that of Jade Turtle, first I am the Guardian of the stones." He zeroed in on the overwhelmed boy and watched him for a moment before saying, "It is not only Jade Turtle's that inherently have the ability to undertake this role, though it is not uncommon. You can hear them, sense their power. If you choose to, I would be able to train you. You are capable, though you are young." Fu took a moment to take a long drink, aware of Wayzz's concerned stare. "It is a heavy task, but for that same reason training can not be delayed for long. I am strong but my age will not be abated forever." He left the sentiment at that, his meaning clear enough but his eyes still kind. "I would like you to be my successor in this regard as well. You would do well with it, that I am certain. But there is no need to decide now."

"The stones are here?" Nino said, his voice quiet and… strained. "You want me- Something that important I…"

"You are young," Wayzz reiterated, flying forward to float in front of Nino's face. "It is a life changing choice, something that shouldn't be taken-"

"I want to do it," Nino cut him off, taking even himself by surprise. However as the words hung in the air he cleared his throat, heart beating unevenly as he said again, "I want to be trained. I want to try."

"Nino!' Wayzz blurted out, completely caught off guard but Fu was steady, smiling to himself as if he was unsurprised.

"Fu said he had all these reasons for picking me," Nino said in a rush, the words slamming together as his fists balled up in the fabric of his jeans. "All this stuff all these big reasons." Nino's voice faltered but he choked out the words, showing how overwhelmed he really was. "I've been nothing but scared as hell but everyone's believed in me this entire freaking time, Cat and Lady and Alya and everyone at school and little Cheney and so many people. So many people think I'm a superhero, think I'm- think im _anything_ and I **know** how much danger there really is now, I get it I see it all the time. So much is at risk all the time and even with _this,"_ he gestured to his wrist, "sometimes I still freak out, even with power I still get scared. What about all the people without that kind of power? How scared are they going to be with people like Hawkmoth doing such awful things? These stones, the miraculous stones are- they're so powerful. If they were misused if they were lost or damaged or given to the wrong people it would be so impossibly bad and that scares the _crap_ out of me that I would be the one handling any of that at **all** but- I-" he faltered again, picking up his cap and running a hand through his hair as he looked up at Fu. "Mari said once that when people have power it's the heroes who use it. If I can do it, if I can… sense or whatever the hell the stones and if I can learn then I _should_ because I can help, and if I have the power to help I have to use it, I have to."

He hesitated, looking between Fu and Wayzz before dropping his gaze, slowly bowing his head as part of him demanded that he stop and another part solemnly knew this was the path forward.

"Sir I don't know if I'll be any good but I want to try."

Nino waited, eyes fixed on the cup of tea on the mat before him as he was acutely aware of the seconds passing. How many seconds would be have because of this? How many years? He just said yes to something… so impossibly heavy, he was practically begging for it. The most not-Nino thing he could have done.

But he wasn't just Nino anymore.

After a long pause he heard the old man hum again, a smile clear in his voice as he spoke. "Very admirable indeed," he said quietly, mostly to himself as he drew Nino's gaze upward when he addressed him, eyes… proud. "I can think of no one better. I am grateful to you. There is something we must do." He started to stand, gesturing for Nino to do the same. "Rise young man. Wayzz will bear witness."

"W-what are we doing?" Nino asked hesitantly, hurrying to stand and moving to help Fu do the same which he seemed to appreciate. He couldn't help but look around for some kind of knife for a crazy blood ritual, but he doubted Fu would spring something like that on him without a heads up. He felt uneasy, thinking mostly variations of 'What the hell am I doing?' until Fu interrupted his thoughts by speaking to him again.

"A simple thing, but it is traditional. The intent must be made clear," he smiled slightly, "more so for you than anyone else. Stand before me."

Nino stared at him in confusion before obeying, taking a step back and standing in front of the small man, the elder looking up at him. Fu waited for a moment more as Wayzz situated himself beside Nino before starting with a serious expression.

"Jade Turtle," he said in an even tone, locking Nino to the spot with the weight of his gaze. "In this instance I ask it of you plainly, so that the matter can not be denied by any uncertainty." He clasped his hands behind his back, standing tall and for a moment looking as full of life and pride as he had when he had stormed the Notre Dame. "Will you pursue the knowledge of the Guardian, with all that it entails willingly and without cruel intention?"

Nino swallowed, the dull inaudible hum of the miraculous stones somehow more present in that moment than they had been in any moment prior, demanding his attention.

"Yes," he said quietly, throat dry even as his palms were wet.

"Do you accept the changes it will bring, and the weight you will bear?"

Nino felt Wayzz land gently on his shoulder, and even though he didn't look at him somehow he knew he was proud of him.

"Yes."

Fu smiled, pride in his expression as well. "Are you prepared to uphold the lessons of our position as I will teach them to you, in the face of any threat you may face?"

"Yes," Nino said more firmly now, that distracting hum of energy starting to let him rest, still there but… it was somewhat different now. Not so abrasive, more natural.

Fu grinned, one hand moving from behind his back to be held forward in another friendly gesture. "Then shake an old man's hand. And that will be Master Fu to you from now on young man."

Nino hesitated, a smile of his own spreading across his face as he huffed, wiping off a hand before taking his mentor's grasp in his own. "Sure you don't want Sensei?"

Fu laughed, Wayzz chuckling too as the old man shrugged his shoulders. "Either works."

Nino managed a somewhat natural laugh, heart still uneven in his chest as Fu's hand dropped and he bent down to collect his and Nino's cups, extending the latter to its owner.

"Do not be nervous," Fu said kindly, smiling when Nino took his cup again. "You will take to it well, I am sure. I have no intention of overburdening you, I'm still in my prime I'll have you know." Fu chuckled, reaching out to stroke Wayzz's head as the kwami floated closer, looking towards Nino. "We can wait until the summer to start your training extensively, but there are some things you can start now."

"Now?" Nino said in surprise, eyes widening, "Like now now?"

Wayzz snickered along with Fu, the old man taking a long drink before saying, "No, it is something I'd like you to take home to look through in your own time. It will be like your textbook in a way, there is a lot you can learn from it. You have school, and also your duties to the city. I will ask however that you find the time to come here once a week after school. We can use that time to discuss what you've read in the book."

"Okay," Nino said, nodding his head quickly, "I can do that. Thanks for this Master, I won't let you down." He hesitated, rubbing at his neck and looking away. "Or, I'll try not to anyway…"

"Have faith," Wayzz spoke up for the first time in a while, flying in front of him and zipping forward to hug his face, the DJ taken by surprise by the genuine tone to the little kwami's voice. "I am very proud of you Nino. You are very brave."

"I-" Nino stammered, reaching up with his free hand to cradle Wayzz, his voice a little stunned. "Thank you little man… thanks."

Fu walked a short distance away, leaving the pair to talk quietly and returning a short time later with a heavy book in his hands, the surface scrawled with gold embossing.

Nino looked at it, hurrying to set down his cup so he could hold it with two hands, instantly nervous again. "Woah… this looks super old."

"It is an incredibly valuable tome, guard it with care," Fu said seriously. "I'll ask that you keep it to yourself for now as well. While your friends are very trustworthy there are some things meant only for you. For that same reason, I expect you to keep what you learn here a secret."

"I can't even tell them?" he said, shocked when Fu nodded.

"Not all things are meant to be known. In time I will share what they need to know with them myself, the rest is for your education alone."

Nino held the book close to him, caught off guard but agreeing to secrecy. He hadn't expected not to be able to tell the others, but it made sense sort of. They'd probably get it… but still.

Nino jolted when Fu suddenly waved his hands, shooing him and Wayzz both. "Now now, I have business to do. You have your things and I have your oath, that is enough for now. We can see each other again next week, at this same time."

"Uh o-okay," Nino stammered, stumbling back as Fu pushed them towards the door with the book still in his arms. "Next week same day?" Nino tried to clarify, but he was already out the door, Fu calling past them to a man waiting outside.

"S-Sir!" Nino tried again, but Fu was already occupied, taking the customer inside and leaving a confused Nino with Wayzz stuffed haphazardly in his pocket stood on the sidewalk with an ancient book in his arms. He huffed, shaking his head and looking around before quickly lifting Wayzz into his hat, saying quietly to him, "Okay he's cool but he's also a little weird."

Wayzz didn't offer an explanation, only a laugh as he settled in. Nino sighed, head reeling with literally everything that had just gone down, feeling not all that different but…

He gripped the book closer to him, eyes screwing shut for a moment as he forced himself to breathe evenly. A lot of hardcore stuff happened way too fast, as was seemingly a trend. He just got sworn in as a student to an almost two hundred year old slightly eccentric Asian man so he could be trained to overtake arguably the most important position on planet earth and he still had Lit homework to do before patrolling the city of Paris is skin tight green spandex.

"What is my life," he muttered aloud, clutching the book protectively as he hurried home. "What the heck is my life dude. I need the life extension cause all this crap is gonna kill me..."


	12. Chapter 12

"Nino honey are you still awake?"

His mother's voice came through the door, soft just in case he wasn't but drawing closer until she seemed to be stood right outside. "You have school in the morning, don't stay up too late. Are you still doing homework?"

"Kinda…" he replied slowly, head turning away from the ancient book in his lap for a moment as he said to the door, "You going to bed?"

"Yes, your father is asleep already and I have work early. Goodnight sweetheart," she said, her voice moving away now. "Get some sleep!"

"Night Mom," he answered, already distracted again and leaning his face into one hand, his elbow propped on his knee. The DJ turned to regard the turtle hovering over his shoulder once he heard the doorway to his parent's bedroom shut. "Was it too much to hope this would be written in French?"

"Would you like me to continuing reading it to you?" Wayzz said helpfully, drifting back when Nino rubbed at his eyes and closed the book.

"No I think we're good for tonight," he said, shaking his head. "Even when you translate it the words barely make sense. I started at the beginning like you said but even then it's like it expects me to know a bunch of crap I don't." He sighed, setting the book to the side and checking the time. 9:00 PM. He should be starting patrol soon.

"The history is complex, but you will recognize dates and terms the more we go on," Wayzz said, frowning slightly as Nino yawned. "Young master I don't think Paris would suffer if you were to stay in tonight."

Nino looked up, raising an eyebrow even as he smothered another yawn. "What? No man I'm cool. B and Cat are doing their thing tonight I said I'd cover."

"But you're wearing yourself thin," Wayzz said with concern, obviously displeased. "A lot has happened for you today, you shouldn't push yourself."

"Hey the book is crazy confusing but I signed up for it little dude, I'll deal," Nino stated matter-of-factly, rising to his feet and stretching a little to wake himself up. To be totally honest he had a massive headache. None of that crap was sinking in, he felt like he was missing big pieces and the start didn't make sense. Wayzz knew a lot about the book but not how it was ordered or anything, and it didn't feel like page 1 was the best place to start. He'd flip through the whole thing to pick the best starting point but he couldn't even _read it_ , Wayzz was the only reason he even had a jist of what the illustrations meant. He had started with it almost two hours ago and he felt like he knew nothing new, except that apparently miraculous wielders were present in every major era of humanity, even the crusades. Still though, a lot of the pages were misordered or patchwork, updated through ongoing generations. It felt like the whole book was constantly being added to by Guardians as time went on, a bulk of its contents from when it was originally made but a fair bit of it being newer than he had expected. As far as he could guess the book was created in ancient China, but the information found in it was even older, like way way older, it just wasn't until then that it was noted down.

All in all it made for an incredibly confusing read through, since he wasn't even sure it was _Chinese_ the book was written in. He didn't recognize it and Wayzz couldn't give him a straight answer about what it was. He could just read it, apparently to him he didn't really see the distinction between languages. He could switch between reading French, English, Spanish and whatever the hell the book was written in without missing a step, which sorta made sense. If there really were wielders all over the world in all different time periods speaking all different dialects like the book suggested then the Kwamis would need to adapt, or just be innately capable of reading and speaking it. Ugh.

That was so stupidly complex and he was supposed to be the guy who understood it.

Nino was stewing when Wayzz got his attention, saying something and jolting his friend out of his stupor.

"Sorry bro, what? I was zoned out," Nino admitted, rubbing at his eyes as Wayzz repeated himself.

"You got a message, I believe it is from Cat Noir."

Nino raised an eyebrow, pulling out his cellphone and looking at the blank screen before Wayzz clarified, "No, not there."

"Oh he's calling _Jade?"_ Nino said in surprise, Wayzz nodding his head. Nino frowned. "I already told him I've got patrol covered is he checking up on me to make sure I do it?"

"I'm not sure, we should go check though he is calling again already," Wayzz informed him, shaking his head like he was a little irritated by it.

Nino chuckled, grabbing the book from the bed and walking over to stash it in the bottom most drawer of his dresser. "Alright let's go before he goes crazy. We can transform in the stairwell."

* * *

The door leading to the roof of Nino's apartment complex opened slowly, a hero clad in green walking in his distraction towards the center as he fidgeted with the display projected from his bracelet.

"What he calls like four times in three minutes and then doesn't even answer?" Jade muttered, still looking down when there was a suddenly sound right beside him.

"I thought you'd be here," the voice said, flinching when Jade shouted in fright and nearly fell over before steadying himself, heart pounding as he glared at the black cat.

"Jesus Christ Adrien don't freaking do that," he barked, relaxing from his last second defensive position and taking a deep breath with his hands at his hips. "I almost slammed you off the building, what is your-" but he stopped when he looked up, words falling short as he fully saw his friend.

Cat Noir was standing with his shoulders slightly hunched, hands clasped together and claws clicking together nervously before moving to mess with a zipper or his baton or anything else in an effort to distract himself. His green cat like eyes were… tense, his entire expression the perfect picture of anxiety.

"Sorry," he apologized in a tense voice, running his claws through his hair, ears flat against his head like a cat in a rainstorm. "Didn't mean to scare you just… you weren't answering."

"What's up?" he asked immediately, striding forward to put a hand on his shoulder. "Bro you cool?"

Cat Noir didn't answer right away, shifting his weight before saying, "I'm worried I'm going to mess this up man."

"Mess what up? Wh- wait with B?" he asked, looking around quickly to confirm that they were actually alone. "Dude you guys are like already together aren't you what's the issue?"

"We _are,"_ he said suddenly, stepping away so he could pace and forcing Jade's hand to drop. "We are and it's been so amazing and I- dude I- it's been so amazing it's been perfect but we haven't really been together we couldn't be you know?"

"Why?" he said honestly, brow furrowed in confusion and concern. When Cat didn't reply he racked his brain, stiffening slightly as something that had been a semi-frequent topic of conversation between himself and Ladybug came to mind. "Oh," he whispered, tone softer now. "Cause you don't know her identity?"

Cat kept pacing, a dark figure against the distant lights of Paris. The streets stretched like veins along the curve of the earth, lights alive and shifting like fireflies. It looked like his backdrop was breathing, alive. It was weird, and intangible but… it felt like the city was listening.

"She's gonna tell me," Cat finally said in a quiet voice, slowing to a stop in front of the blanket of lights. "Tonight."

Jade was silent, watching his friends hands shifted uneasily again before speaking.

"How do you know?"

"She told me," he answered, still not looking at him. "She messaged me a while ago… she said she didn't want to do it at my house, she wanted to meet in a middle ground. We're supposed to meet in…" he looked down at his staff, "Thirteen minutes."

"What's the problem?" Jade asked uncertainly, proceeding with caution. "I thought you'd be pumped dude."

"I am," he said, voice… strange. Conflicted. It was anxious and excited and frightened. Cat Noir turned to face him, eyes reflecting those same emotions. "I want to know, I've wanted to know for so long but what matters the most now is-… she wants me to know. That's what we agreed on, she would tell me when she was comfortable, on her own terms. She's finally going to tell me Nino." He faltered, looking away again and curling his hands into uneasy fists. "I've been trying so hard to do this all right and she makes me so nervous… but also confident. So confident I'm almost cocky but also disarmed and doubtful and-" he stopped again, reaching up to run a hand through his hair again. "This is big… it isn't even just the name it's her _wanting_ me, w-we already… this is the last part man the last thing in our way. This means so much to her, and I'm terrified that if I even say one word wrong it will ruin this. I can't risk this, no matter who she is I love her Nino," he said genuinely, the power in the words staggering them both, but he gathered himself and said it again, quieter now. "I love her. What if I say this wrong? What if I mess this up?"

Adrien looked at his best friend through both their masks and waited, heart uneven and every part of his being aware of every second as it passed him. In every second there was every last person in Paris, every change in street lights, every turn of a key in a locked door and every softly spoken goodnights through aging doorways. Each second was full of moments of life, but he knew these seconds weighed heavier for him than anyone else. Him and a girl, getting ready to take off her mask for the first time.

How heavy were these seconds for her?

Cat was suddenly aware of the distance between him and his friend closing, the masked man across from him only waiting for a single second more before he shared the weight, reaching out and pulling Cat to him.

Cat Noir was stiff for only a moment before he leaned into it, leaning his face on Nino's shoulder as he felt his friend's arms rest on his back, holding him and speaking without hesitation.

"I know you're freaked out about this," Nino said gently, not protesting as Adrien's grip tightened, "but there is something Wayzz once said about you guys I think would be worth hearing."

Nino relaxed his hold, pulling back a step to look Adrien in the eyes and speaking clearly. "Wayzz told me once the first night I became Jade that there is push and pull and change," he repeated calmly, his voice methodical, "but some things are fact. And very very rarely, there are born two people who are **each other's** fact. The fact of their existence and all that happens within it. Though factors may change facts do not, and you could throw up a hundred barriers between you and her and you'd find each other every time."

He set his hands on Cat Noir's shoulders, leveling him with a strong gaze. "Adrien, think about it. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Paris, billions in the world. You're going to go and see her, and she is going to tell you because you deserve to know. And as soon as you know her name you tell me how the same two people could find each other over and over again when there are so many people it could have been. How could something like that happen if it weren't already written in stone?" Nino watched as his friend took a long, slow breath, becoming steadier as he did. Nino waited until he was calmer before continuing. "You'll be okay man. It will be fine, I promise you you'll be excited to know. She's just as amazing on the other side of the mask."

"Well I've always known that," Cat said a little defensively, clearly distracted with his own thoughts though. He stood with his friend's hands on his shoulders, back straight but head bowed.

After a while Cat spoke again, voice quiet.

"Thanks… again. For this, all of it. You were in the middle for so much and you helped her and me and… she's going to tell me. And it's finally all going to be out in the open. I only have that because of you. I owe you so much."

Nino shrugged, smiling gently. "Nah man, this is you guys. The only thing you owe me dude," he said, drawing Adrien forward in a new tight hug, "just be happy. You deserve that."

Adrien hugged him back, forehead resting on his friends shoulder as he struggled to pull it together. He felt the same as he had the last time he had confronted Nino on that same rooftop, feeling all the same potent emotions.

He owed Nino everything, and even with everything that had changed for his best friend the only thing he wanted was for Adrien to be happy.

Nino let Adrien collect himself for about another minute or so before he slowly pulled away, grinning at him. "Well you are going to be busy, and someone should be on patrol. Go get the girl dude, and if you want to talk after I'll be on the route, but for now you should go."

Cat Noir blinked away half formed tears, clearing his throat and taking a step back before shaking his head. "You're right… I should… yeah."

"Don't be nervous, it's a great thing," Nino reminded him.

Cat Noir was quiet for another moment before he breathed deeply, the sound a little shaky again but his voice still strong when he said, "Thanks for talking to me… I think I'll be alright now."

"No problem," Nino said genuinely. "See you at school man."

"See ya," Cat replied, hesitating for only another second before he was running, drawing out his baton and vaulting away before another doubt could creep in.

Jade Turtle stood alone on the rooftop watching his friend leave before sighing deeply, taking out his shield when Wayzz spoke to him.

' _You handled that well,'_ Wayzz complimented as Jade stepped onto his shield, dropping over the edge of the building like he was walking down a flight of steps. ' _It is good that they have each other. It's the way it is meant to be.'_

"Yeah," Jade agreed, a smile settling into place as he wound his way through the city, leaping onto a new lower roof to navigate towards the start of the route. "I'm happy B got there. Now nothing is in their way and they can stop being dumb all together."

' _I doubt that,'_ Wayzz said with a chuckle, ' _but it might make it better.'_

Jade chuckled aloud as he leapt a gap. "The shade is real."

' _At least it will provide one less distraction. You needn't concern yourself with their secrets between each other now, only protecting their secrets as a whole. You can focus on your training instead.'_

"Once I get a handle on the book," Jade grumbled, flying over the edge of a roof and coasting down the road again, taking to the sidewalks since there were no pedestrians. "You're right though, one less complicated thing."

Jade turned, coasting along the sidewalk as it lead across a now familiar bridge for him. Suddenly though he heard something similar to a gasp sound inside his head, and then Wayzz chuckled.

' _Were one complication fades another takes its place,'_ Wayzz said vaguely, Jade looking towards his bracelet and about to speak before he heard someone call out.

"Hey Ninja Turtle!"

"Oh no w-" he started to say, slowing his shell to a stop so he could look over the railing of the bridge to the far side of the river. And sure enough… "Oh come _on,"_ he groaned dramatically, zeroing in on the grinning reporter standing on their bench, gesturing him over.

' _She's keen,'_ Wayzz said in an amused tone, Jade grumbling as he got back on his shield.

"She's out on her own again is what she is," Jade sighed, turning sharply to head in her direction. "At least it's not 3 AM."

He stepped off his shield as he got close, kicking it up and holding it in one hand as he sauntered forward, Alya stepping down with a smile.

"Alya," he sighed, but she interrupted him.

"You said after midnight," she said quickly, crossing her arms and grinning, fake checking a watch she didn't have. "It's not even close to midnight, 9:30 is not that late and it's the start of patrol so I knew I'd catch you."

"Alya," he said seriously, a little exasperated. "I explained why this is risky. I think you're cool, seriously. I'd hang out with you all the time if it didn't put a target on your back."

Her eyes hardened a little, lips pursed slightly as if she had been expecting that. She leaned her weight on one hip. "I don't really think you not avoiding me whenever I wait here is going to bring butterfly butt knocking down my door."

He tensed a little, a sharp uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach.

She didn't get it. He had been a little jokey with the heroes and he had ended up nearly killed in a cathedral. She publicly posted videos of her interviewing him almost _weekly_ until he put a stop to it. Walking her home, meeting her on their bench, it had been fun. But he couldn't stop thinking about the storm and the Notre Dame.

"Do you even remember what happened to your friend? He could have been killed Alya and that's just cause Hawkmoth _suspected_ he might know the heroes. If you keep doing this you could actually get hurt."

"You're so fond of telling me how strong you are," she said with a slight smile, blatantly ignoring the implied risk of the situation. "I'm not terribly worried about it."

" _I am_ ," he reminded her, tone stern but she was unfazed as always and he grit his teeth in frustration.

"So what," she shot back, "You're just never going to talk to me again now?"

Jade huffed, a bit pissed now. How could she seriously not get that this was unsafe. "What your blog is worth more than your safety, are you serious?"

"Are you that dense that you think the only reason I wait here is for an interview?" she said sharply, expression angry as she leaned towards him, fearlessly jabbing finger at his chest. "Pull your head out of you're a shell for a second and maybe _consider_ that I just actually want to see you, and you're just going to pull the safety card and avoid me?"

Jade froze, eyes widening slowly as she forced him to take a step back. She was quoting their conversation from a few weeks before, but he still muttered out, "Wait, what?"

"I've published like four of those interviews now and I'm _fine_ ," she insisted, hands on her hips now. "So you just going to keep this up?"

He was still tense, heat spreading down his neck as he said, "This isn't about your blog?"

"What you're too good to be friends with someone without an animal motif?" she said sarcastically, but maybe it was just the lighting or just him but… she looked a little warm too.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said after a second, stammering little. "I-I'm serious I just didn't want-"

"Me to be at risk, but news flash I run a blog dedicated to superhero info and interact with the heroes on a more regular basis than anyone else in the city. I've been a target since I started the blog and a victim in like three attacks. If Hawkmoth isn't capitalizing on me then he isn't going to do it."

She stood firm where as he fought off the urge to shrink beneath her fiery gaze, still taken off guard.

"So?" she pressed.

"What?' he asked, leaning back a little when she stepped forward again.

"Are you going to keep avoiding me or what?"

"U-uh," he stammered, feeling even warmer with her so close now. "What's the right answer?"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and he apologized quietly as she pulled something out of her pocket.

"What's this?" he said as she handed it to him, the girl stepping back towards the bench to pick up her bag as if she was preparing to leave.

"My phone number," she said simply. "If you want me to stop running out here then use it."

He was still, incredibly warm now as she watched him, her own nervousness visible under her mask of irritation but regardless he was still pretty intimidated.

"Okay," he said in a small voice, clearing his throat and trying again as he looked away. "Uh, o-okay… I'm sorry."

"You were worried," she said with a sigh, looking a little relieved. "I get it."

There was silence for awhile before she shifted her weight, not quite looking at him as she said, "Did you want to walk me home today or should you start patrol?"

He missed a beat before saying, "Uh, yeah. I mean, yeah I'll walk you home. Yeah," he said again, the simple word almost like a crutch as she straightened her back and smiled at him, the expression mostly natural but also a little… something. Flustered?

"Okay then, let's go turtle boy," she said simply, starting to walk even as he remained in place, watching her walk.

"What?' he said to himself, Alya getting a fair few paces ahead before he snapped out of it somewhat and started following. "What the hell is today… Why does everything happen all at once all the time?" he whined, trailing after her.

Today was way too much, he was fried.

He wanted to go to bed.

"So how was your day?" Alya said, attempting to casually start conversation as she caught his overloaded expression, feeling a little smug since she knew she was responsible for a fair bit of it.

"Eh," he muttered in a dazed voice. "Same old same old…"


	13. Chapter 13

"You have to go to school, Nino," Wayzz repeated with a sigh, not even looking at his charge as he went about feeding Will. However, he could still hear Nino rolling back and forth on the mattress, whining to himself.

"I can't, I'm sick. I have a flu," Nino said, burying himself under his blankets, still in his pajamas.

"No," Wayzz corrected. "You have a girlfriend. It's not the same thing."

" _She isn't my girlfriend!"_ Nino shouted, throwing the blankets off and revealing his flustered expression.

"She disagrees," Wayzz said with a chuckle, turning to regard him and crossing his arms. "Or did I misread the message where you agreed to take her on patrol?"

"Don't read my texts," Nino muttered, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses and slinging his legs over the edge of his bed. He was red in the face as he checked the time, fidgeting again before grabbing a pillow to groan into.

"If you send all your messages while transformed I can't really help it," Wayzz sighed, still smiling.

"Well messaging her as _me,"_ he said as he threw the pillow clear and gestured to himself, "isn't really an option. Because she doesn't know _who I am,_ which is one of **many** reasons this is **_ridiculous_**."

"Oh relax," Wayzz said with a chuckle, going about his business and patting Will on the head. "This is good! Alya is a nice girl."

"I don't know how this happened," Nino groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "I went from telling her it wasn't safe to be seen with her to- to-" he faltered, face growing more heated.

"Dating her?"

"It's one!" Nino shouted, a little more reckless since his parents had left early that day. "One date, we aren't _dating,_ and it isn't even a date it's just patrol. I'm taking her on patrol so she'll stop nagging me."

"You called it a date first," Wayzz pointed out, flying in Nino's direction to hover near him. "I understand your hesitation but as long as you're careful-"

"She just like, she was just talking like it was already a thing? And, I was all confident or whatever and I was rolling with it, but then as soon as I got home I'm like-I can't do the girl thing, Wayzz. I can't. I'll die."

"Boys are also an option."

" _Not the part that's the issue, buddy,"_ Nino hissed through his teeth, looking up to glare at the rather smug turtle. "I'm pathetic at this! She's scary!"

"Scary?" Wayzz said in confusion, crossing his arms. "She's forward. At most I'd call that intimidating. She's a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it. I find that respectable."

"But-why does she want to?" Nino said in completely genuine bewilderment.

"Do you not want her to have an interest in you?"

"No, of-ugh," Nino ran his hands roughly through his hair. "Of course I want her to, I just didn't… expect her to? Alya's great, she is, she's amazing and… alright yes. I admit it now, I was flirting with her. I was. I…she's cool. She's fun you know? We're friends. But like, I actually did it and now I don't know what to do. I _cannot_ just go to school and sit one seat ahead of her like 'Oh hey, I totally didn't get your number in a super flirty _that kind of way_ like, last night. Nope. Business as usual.'" Nino stood up, pacing his room and still not ready for school, which he should have left for a while beforehand. "I was confident because she didn't know it was me; it felt different. But now she like… wants to hang. And so do I. And I'm freaking out about it."

Wayzz was quiet for a moment, watching Nino as he dwelled in agitation.

"It is early yet," Wayzz said gently, drifting forward to put his hands on Nino's shoulder. "You are worrying yourself for nothing. Talk to her if you want to, see her if you want to. I think it is obvious now to even yourself that it isn't that you don't _want_ to go through with it, it's that you're unsure of how." Wayzz paused, smiling to himself where Nino couldn't see. "These things are often simpler than humans make them. Do you want to spend time with her?"

Nino didn't respond, not looking at the kwami and instead focusing on nothing in particular. Thinking.

"Yeah," he finally said, falling silent.

"Then do so. She wants to spend time with you as well, so she will. What progresses shall be natural, so don't obsess. For now, you need to go to school."

"There's no way I'm going to be able to be normal," Nino said in a dazed voice, Wayzz drifting off to find Nino a clean pair of socks and hopefully kick him into gear. "I'll have to avoid her."

"If you must," Wayzz said with a heavy sigh, dropping with a small thud into a sock drawer as Nino finally started to get ready.

"Oh, hello Nino. You're joining us after all today?"

Nino stopped in the doorway of his classroom, blinking in a mixture of distraction and exhaustion. It took him a second to even notice it was Ms. B who was talking to him, or that he had pretty much derailed a lecture by walking in almost twenty minutes late.

"Uh, sorry," he offered lamely, shrinking into his seat quickly and gluing his eyes to the desktop.

"Well," Ms. Bustier said with a small sigh, "Adrien can give you the notes so far. As I was saying…"

Her typical teacher tone picked up as normal, but Nino didn't hear any of it. Yeah, he was really tired but to be honest that was almost 0% of the problem. It had a lot more to do with who was sitting behind him, and how he was very, very carefully not looking at her. Even though it wasn't hard, considering she sat behind him and he'd probably have to make an effort to get caught staring at her.

He jumped a bit in his seat when something hit his arm, but it was just Adrien's notebook as his friend slid it over. Nino didn't miss the questioning, slightly concerned expression Adrien was sporting. And something else too.

Nino didn't meet his eyes, silently taking the notes and dragging out his own notebook to carry through with the charade.

Nino couldn't help but feel like someone was staring at him, aside from Adrien who was not backing down. Usually his friend got the hint when Nino wasn't up for talking at the minute, but he consistently tried to get his attention through class.

"The answer would be 1865 Madame, when it was initially published."

That was pretty much the only thing Nino heard through the entirety of class, and it was not lost on him that the only reason he even got that much was because it was said by Alya. Probably in response to a question, or something similar but he didn't know.

He really didn't know what he was going to do.

He had just sort of…offered. He figured she'd be interested in seeing the whole patrol route, she knew the start and ending points but not everywhere they checked. That was superhero related, which was what she liked, right?

Nino sank a little in his seat, thoughts buzzing like trapped flies in a glass jar and equally as irritating.

 _You're setting yourself up for disaster man,_ one of them hissed. _What exactly do you think is going to happen? What even can happen? As soon as she finds out you're just Nino, she's gone. You only barely caught her attention because you specialize in green spandex and stupidly dangerous hobbies; she's never given a damn about regular Nino. You only matter to her because-_

He tried to keep himself from thinking it, but the effort barely slowed it down. So in the middle of class he sank a little farther, cringing from the sharp words.

 _You only matter to her because of the mask. Take that away and you're nothing special._

Nino's head dropped slightly, fingers curling tightly around his pencil. A harsh dark line cut through his useless notes, and he felt Adrien glance over but he didn't acknowledge him.

So there it was. He liked her, he knew he did. It was stupid trying to pretend he didn't. And she liked Jade… which was fair, he guessed.

Jade was the important part.

 **'** **No.'**

"Jesus _Christ_ ," Nino said aloud, jerking in his seat and immediately biting his tongue as he locked eyes with the teacher.

"Excuse me?" she questioned, tone sharp as he floundered.

"What?" he replied in confusion, his whole body heating up. "Sorry. Uh… s-stubbed my foot. Toe."

"Foot toe?' she sighed, a majority of the class chuckling to themselves as she sighed heavily. "Please don't be a distraction Nino, you were already late."

"Yup," he said shortly, earning a glare from Ms. Bustier before she decided to ignore him.

Adrien was giving him a questioning glance himself but he ignored him. Instead he was focusing on the gentle weight on his head he had nearly forgotten about.

' _The telepathy thing is a no-no at school, Wayzz, unless you're helping me cheat again_ ,' Nino thought as sourly as he could manage, aware of Wayzz's gentle pats from his hiding place in his hat.

' **Your reaction wasn't my fault,'** Wayzz replied, his tiny weird feeling fin like hands pushing through Nino's hair and directly touching his scalp. ' **You scare easily.'**

Nino thought something a tad unkind before Wayzz said, " **Do not swear.'**

 _'_ _This is my head! What are you doing listening in anyways I told you to stop that when there wasn't a test.'_

 **'** **I don't approve of that particular study habit,'** Wayzz thought, tone clearly stern. **'And call it intuition. I had a feeling you'd be stewing, so I thought I'd correct you.'**

 _'_ _I'm not stewing,'_ Nino thought bitterly, shifting in his seat in a futile attempt to shake Wayzz's hands off, but the kwami was undeterred.

 **'** **You are constantly stewing, it's your default state,'** Wayzz contradicted. ' **You're being silly.'**

' _Leave me alone,'_ Nino thought irritably, dragging his fingernail across the soft wood of his pencil.

 **'** **Please stop torturing yourself, Nino. I understand why you have your doubts, but they're unfounded. Alya is your friend and Jade is NOT the superior half of you. You are Jade and Jade is Nino; stop thinking of them as separate.'**

' _I can't even have my thoughts without being lectured?'_

 **'** **When they're stupid? No, you can't.'**

Nino grimaced.

' **How long did you help with Ladybug and Cat Noir to just go back on every scrap of advice you've given when you're involved yourself? I suppose you think their relationship is hollow or false.'**

' _What? I didn't say that what are you-'_

 **'** **Alya has interest in Jade because he is humble, personable and kind. She likes him because she feels like she really knows him, that he's a friend. Jade isn't some hyper exaggeration of yourself; you are the most genuine hero I've ever known. Nothing changed when you put on the mask. It's a miracle she doesn't know it's you.'**

 **'** _Leave me alone okay! I can be stupid in my own head if I want!'_ Nino snapped at him, grimacing outwardly and trying to resist getting into an argument with his hat. He knew Wayzz was right, but he also knew that Wayzz knew that he knew he was right, and that annoyed him. He had a right to be irrational in his own thoughts if he wanted to be; he was under a lot of pressure.

' **Letting yourself get carried away with poisonous thoughts is never good, even if they are never spoken aloud. That might even make them worse.'**

' _If you keep spying you are staying in my bag I swear to god.'_

Wayzz sighed heavily, grumbling an exasperated **Fine** before withdrawing his hands in a slight huff. Nino couldn't muster up the extra brain power to feel bad, even if he could practically sense Wayzz stewing now on his own.

He _appreciated_ the help, he did, but he also wished that Wayzz would just let him be stupid for awhile. He was incredibly unsure of himself and being constantly wrong didn't totally help.

He knew every scrap of advice he had given Adrien, and he was also very aware that it completely applied here, except in this instance Alya was Adrien and he was Ladybug which was weird. It was the exact same thing and didn't require months and months of thoughtless dwelling in order to get it across, but _one day_ of thoughtless irrational dwelling wasn't a lot to ask.

Nino fought off a sigh as class continued, dragging his nail across his pencil and steadily focusing on stripping it of it's thin yellow paint. He had made a small pile of the tiny paint chips by the time class finally concluded, sweeping them absentmindedly to the floor as he procrastinated rising.

Now that a small chunk of time had passed he did feel bad for being harsh to Wayzz, who he knew was only trying to help. He was contemplating finding a quiet corner to sneak off to and apologize when a hand sporting a small silver ring dominated the desk in front of him.

Nino looked up to see a slightly… bashful looking Adrien leaning on his half of the desk from the front, already packed and standing and he looked down at him.

"So uh… class is over," Adrien started, most of the student's gone by now but a few still straggling behind, Marinette and Alya among them. "You going to tell me what an idiot I am?"

Nino blinked once, meeting Adrien's sometimes way too green eyes and staring blankly before saying, "Uh. No?"

Adrien seemed surprised, taking back his hand and running it through his hair as he laughed nervously, shooting a glance most likely at the girls behind them. "Well I wouldn't blame you. Uh… it's sorta accurate."

"Yeah?" Nino said slowly, already completely lost and not feeling too up to trying to catch up as he finished packing his bag. He stood up, heading towards the door and very strategically not looking at the girls as he did so. Adrien seemed surprised again.

"W-well uh," Adrien stammered, now pretty confused himself as he looked once more behind Nino before slowly following his friend. "You know. Kind of obvious, right? Like, uh… as soon as you said 'in our class' I probably should have caught on, right?"

Nino's brow furrowed, the DJ looking over at his friend and nodding a little to make it look like he got it when he was mostly just looking for a quiet place. Adrien looked baffled yet again, which wasn't terribly reassuring because he was sort of relying on Adrien knowing what the conversation was about since he definitely didn't.

"Um," Adrien tried again, getting more uncomfortable by the second as he followed his friend, neither concerned with their next class. "Hehe, uh, we're not really sure how to break it to Alya, like the Us thing. Should be pretty funny right?"

Nino looked up quickly as soon as he said her name, paying attention for the first time in the past few sentences and spooking the model with his sudden focus that dwindled almost as quickly as it came.

"Right," Nino said slowly again, turning a corner and feeling a slight wave of awkwardness as Adrien continued to follow him. Like he wasn't against Adrien being there but he had kind of been hoping to talk to Wayzz by himself…

"Uh, Nino," Adrien asked, reaching out and grabbing his friend lightly by the shoulder to slow him to a stop in the empty hallway, confusion cloaking his features. "Are you okay man? You aren't uh, gloating like I figured you would."

"Gloating?" Nino asked, his bewilderment obviously coming off as genuine enough to confuse Adrien _even more_.

"Well, like maybe not gloating but sort of like… 'You're stupid, haha. I knew and you didn't, you're so blind you loser' sort of thing."

The two boys stood in the deserted hallway for another few seconds in complete silence, each one staring at the other in absolute confusion before Nino finally said, "Alright I'll be real with you I have no idea what we're talking about."

Adrien blanched, mouth opening and closing as half-made unfinished sounds slipped passed his teeth. His expression wasn't outraged but it was fairly incredulous, his hands lifting from his side to gesture helplessly at the air.

"Wha- are you serious?" he asked, looking around and pointedly gesturing to the emptiness of the hall. "No one is here Nino you don't have to like, pretend."

"I'm still super lost," nino admitted again, shifting a tad impatiently. Adrien was flabbergasted.

"I- last night?" Adrien tried, searching his friend's face for any hint that he was joking. "Really big turning point in my life?"

Nino stared blankly, and he was suddenly aware of a faint snicker coming from his hat.

"The thing that's sort of a huge deal?" Adrien tried again,"Marinette?"

"Yeees?" Nino attempted, very clearly still lost as a new snicker came from Adrien's pocket.

"I'm dating Marinette now?!" Adrien said in exasperation, looking for any kind of reaction as Nino blinked again.

"Yooou were already dating Marinette?" Nino said hesitantly, lips pursing when Adrien dropped his head into his hands.

"Yes," he said in a massive sigh, head still in his hands, "expect I didn't know that until last night?"

Adrien looked up, watching Nino carefully as his statement hung in the air, until finally, after a massive pause, Nino's eyes widened.

"Oh," he said suddenly, "OH. RIGHT."

" _Nino!"_ Adrien groaned, Plagg and Wayzz collapsing into laughter in their respective hiding places as Nino rubbed at his tired eyes.

"Oh dude I completely forgot that was going on I am _so_ sorry," Nino said genuinely.

"Like, I guess it wasn't your thing anymore but like, how did you forget!?" Adrien said, laughing a little too, but still incredibly confused. "It's sort of a big deal for us man!"

"I am **so** sorry, I'm a jerk seriously. My bad, bro," Nino said, grabbing Adrien by the shoulders as he did. "Congrats, on the knowing thing. You're right, you are stupid but so is everyone else so it's cool. Mazeltov."

"What's up dude?" Adrien countered, expression shifting into concern now, even if he was still a little amused. "You've been really distracted, it's not like you to forget something like that."

Nino sighed himself, dropping his hands and pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand before speaking.

"I've got a lot going on right now, I didn't mean to space."

Adrien seemed about to ask when nino interrupted him, hoping that Wayzz would understand the stall in an apology and spinning the model to face the way they had come and marching him down the hall. "Don't worry about it," Nino continued as they walked, "It's not important; I can deal. Right now we should go find Mari cause you're right, you guys are gonna need to tell people."

"W-well we don't know how we want to handle it yet!" Adrien said nervously, painfully aware of the fact that Nino was deflecting and how he wasn't very fond of it. Nino looked ready to strangle someone during class, he didn't want to sweep it under the rug. However, Nino wasn't leaving him much of a choice as he rapidly moved them towards public again.

"Do what you gotta do but do me a favor," Nino said with a chuckle, trying to escape his own whirlwind of complications in favor of Adrien's. "Please don't tell Alya I knew first. She'll murder me, and that will make things hard for me."


	14. Chapter 14

"Oooh they're gonna do it," Nino said quietly as he leaned casually on the railing of the stairs in the school courtyard. His attention was focused on the front doors of the school, where just inside stood his three friends, two of them standing very close together.

"There he goes," Wayzz's voice chimed in, the kwami lifting the brim of Nino's hat ever so slightly to watch as Adrien took a nervous yet firm step towards Marinette, draping his arm over her shoulders as she leaned into his chest.

"She's starring," Nino cooed in a singsong tone, watching as the girl who had been dominating his thoughts all day froze completely in place. Alya was rigid, her phone dangling comically in one hand as she gaped.

"Do you think she's still processing?" Wayzz chuckled, glancing down when he heard Nino snort.

"You'll know when she's done," Nino said through his laughter, trying to smother the sound with his hand but the gesture was futile, because soon a disbelieving scream of "WHAT" shattered the air and he lost it completely.

Nino and Wayzz both doubled over in laughter, the kwami letting the hat fall and rolling onto his stomach in a desperate attempt to hold on as Nino howled.

The DJ peered up through watery eyes to see Alya practically lifting the newly announced couple off the ground, crushing the life out of them both as she went ballistic. It was an absolutely hilarious mixture of world shaking excitement and indignant rage, mostly directed towards Marinette.

"How long has this been going on?! You better hope this is the first day you two have been together or I am going to-" and on it went, Alya shouting such things between hugging Marinette and threatening Adrien.

"Adrien looks a little scared of her," Nino noted as he used the railing to straighten himself, still chuckling a little. "See I told you she was scary."

"Well perhaps," Wayzz allowed, still giggling to himself.

Nino kept watching from his place by the stairs, happy to stay well out of it until the new couple turned and looked at him over their shoulders, reacting to something Alya had asked.

"Uh oh," Nino said aloud, his eyes darting between Alya bouncing in place and Adrien gesturing him over. "I should have practiced my surprised face. Should I go for a gasp or too far?"

"Too far," Wayzz coached quietly, "but a sharp intake of breath and loudly proclaimed congrats might be in order."

"What's an intake of breath if not a gasp?" Nino questioned out of the corner of his mouth as he started walking. Wayzz could offer no more explanation as the distance slowly closed, Nino running through possible lines until he arrived.

"Yeah?" he asked evenly, adding a quizitive look at Alya's excitement for affect.

Alya was standing next to Marinette, pretty much directly across from him in the awkwardly squashed circle they had created where he stood between the not-yet-announced to him couple. She was grinning impossibly wide, both hands on Marinette's arm as she watched him intensely. Really intensely actually… it was hilarious. He only ever saw her get this excited over… well she got excited over a lot of stuff but _this_ was usually reserved for, ironically, superheroes. And maybe a really really fluffy dog. Probably not, mostly superheroes.

"Nino?" he suddenly heard, Nino jolting in place and turning to look at Adrien like he had completely forgotten he was there.

Sorta had actually… woops.

"Uh what?" he asked with a sheepish grin, Adrien rolling his eyes and chuckling before speaking again.

"Marinette and I have an announcement."

"You do?" Nino couldn't help but ask a tad theatrically, earning a warning gaze from Marinette he could feel without even turning to look. "Do go on."

"Well," Adrien said with a chuckle, scooting around Nino to do much the same move he had when talking to Alya. His arm settled easily over her shoulders. "Um as of today, Marinette and I are a couple."

Nino gasped, absolutely overdoing it with the shock and awe only to have it melt into a haughty smirk. "I'm just kidding, I'm not surprised in the slightest. It's about time really."

Adrien stiffened, eyes widening and looking a little hot under the collar and Marinette snickered into her hands. Alya immediately started laughing, stepping to Nino's side and planting her hands on her hips.

"Seriously, only took you guys forever!" she said with a teasing lilt in her voice, Marinette now looking caught out.

"Alya!"

"What? We're right," Alya defended herself.

"At any rate," Nino tried to defuse the teasing with a bit of seriousness, "Congrats bro. You guys deserve each other."

"Absolutely," Alya agreed, grinning for another moment before her eyes narrowed and Adrien flinched under her suddenly intense gaze. "I don't care _if_ we're friends if I ever get a phone call from her at 3:00 AM where she's crying her eyes out because of something stupid you said all your daddy's guards and more can't keep me from you. Got it?"

Adrien paled slightly, stepping back behind Marinette who sighed and rolled her eyes as he said, "Yes Mam."

Nino snickered, trying to look tough as he glared at Marinette. "Yeah and- and you… well I won't do anything to you but I will be very upset, and likely disappointed. Relations will be strained."

"Thanks buddy," Adrien's monotone voice reached him, sending the whole group into another fit of laughter. However Nino had to admit, it did feel good to see Adrien pull her to him from behind, affectionately wrapping his arms around her stomach as she leaned her head against his chest.

It was like a universal thing, something that felt good because you know it should work and it does. It was something that just made sense, and it felt good to finally see it all out in the open.

"Well that went well," Marinette said with a nervous laugh, Nino and Alya trading a confused glance as Adrien's face suddenly darkened.

"Is something… up?" Nino asked slowly, watching as Adrien glanced away towards the entrance of the school.

"I was hoping to wait…" Adrien said with a subdued voice, Marinette sighing quietly as she reached up to gently hold one of his arms.

"It's better not to." She looked up at where Nino and Alya stood, both now very uneasy. "We wanted to be forward about us, we wanted to be able to be seen in public and talk about it at school. But uh…" she fidgeted a little, Adrien almost unconsciously holding her a little closer as he took a deep breath.

"Chloe goes to school here," he answered for her, a slow sense of understanding settling over the friends. "And she isn't going to be pleased. And when she isn't pleased she goes to her father, and if he isn't pleased about something about _me-_ "

"He'll go to your father," Alya said softly, silence falling over them.

Adrien was quiet for a while, glancing out the front doors every once in awhile to check for his car before he spoke again.

"Nothing he says will stop it," he said firmly, trying to sound upbeat. "He knows I'm too stubborn for that. But Marinette is right… it's smarter if I tell him myself instead of letting Chloe rat me out. I'm happy, I just hope that's going to be enough for him."

"We're going together," Marinette spoke up, turning a little to look up at him. "I'm not scared of him. I bet it's going to be much better than you're expecting."

Adrien didn't respond right away, meeting her eyes for a moment before smiling softly.

"Well your luck has always been better than mine," he answered playfully, glancing outside again as the flash of a high end silver compact caught his attention. "As long as we're together father can say what he likes, it won't change a thing."

"Exactly" she said with a smile of her own, stepping away from him but grabbing hold of his hand only a second later.

"Keep us updated," Alya said quickly, Marinette nodding gratefully as Adrien gently pulled her away.

"Yeah," Nino agreed, catching Adrien's eye. "It'll be cool man, don't sweat it."

"Yeah," Adrien said, his voice firm and his smile twitching slightly bigger when Marinette squeezed his hand in support. Adrien and Marinette headed towards the entrance, looking over their shoulders one last time to wave goodbye before heading down towards Adrien's car and out of sight.

Nino was still, a worried frown settling in place as he adjusted the strap of his backpack. He had had the unfortunate 'pleasure' of Gabriel Agreste's company himself on several occasions, and it always felt like the next was worse than the last.

"It will be fine," Alya suddenly said, scaring the crap out of him as she all at once reminded him that she was there but she didn't seem to notice. "Marinette is probably the most presentable girl at this school. She's polite, talented, adorable, and studying the same field Gabriel Agreste made his fortune in. If he can just get over the fact that she isn't an heiress he'll see that they're absolutely perfect for each other. Right?"

Alya turned to look up at him, a little surprised to see how totally… wired he looked, and misread it as apprehension.

"Relax Nino! They'll be totally fine you'll see."

"W- yeah, of course," he hurried to agree, taking a small step away he hoped she didn't notice if only to give himself a little breathing room. He didn't realize how close the two of them had been standing before.

He swallowed, knowing she was obviously expecting more. "You're right. Marinette can be shy sometimes but I'm sure she knows she's got to hold her ground against someone like him. Her and Adrien will be fine as long as they're together… they're just stronger that way."

Alya nodded, crossing her arms and keeping quiet for a time. After a few seconds without a reply Nino glanced down.

She had her weight cocked on one hip, phone gripped in one hand as she stared out the front entrance where their friends had gone.

She nodded slowly, her eyes bright as she said, "Yeah. They're just stronger that way." She paused for a moment, looking up at meeting his eyes in a way that caught him off guard. "Well put."

"R-right," he stammered, reaching up to adjust his headphones and quickly looking away. She seemed surprised but he knew himself too well to think the conversation was going to make it much farther. "Welp," he said rather smoothly in his opinion. "I'm out. Got a bunch of homework to do before tonight."

"Homework?" she questioned, forcing him to look over his shoulder as he tried to gun it for the entrance. "You behind? We barely got anything today except the reading if that even counts."

"Eh well, uh," he stalled, laughing nervously. "Got some extra reading to do. Some studying, you know."

"Reading on what?' she asked with a raised eyebrow, watching as he not so subtly fled the scene."

"Uh, you know. Stones… Geology… Later!"

Alya stood on her own, watching in bewilderment as Nino all but left a cloud of smoke behind him. Eventually she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "...geology?"

* * *

 _Fortitude, Cunning, Truth, Cooperation, and Diligence. The five values of the lower stones. Each of the lower stones has darkness and light, where they can be wielded to their true potential and also made to compel the evil within it's wielders. For each of the values there are their lies._

 _Apathy, Manipulation, Arrogance, Control, and Selfishness. Each of these five stones find balance within the world, but the two stones above find balance within each other. Whereas the lower stones have no direct counterpart, the stones of creation and destruction were created in direct offset to each other. All stones are connected, but the powers of creation and destruction cannot be separated. Though the stones may not always be near one another, when one is activated so too is the other._

Nino drew the book closer to him, laying its solid weight in his lap as he looked over the passage again, once in the writing of the book, then in the translation made in his own handwriting in the notebook beside him.

"Fortitude… cunning… truth, cooperation, and diligence," he muttered to himself. "Lower stones… Wayzz?"

Nino turned, scanning his room to find Wayzz lazily kicking across the surface of his tank, looking up when he was called.

"Are we starting a new passage?" he asked, lifting himself into the air and shaking water from his antennae.

"No, not yet I'm still looking through this one. I know we can only go through a chunk at a time but I think more sinks in when we do it like this."

"Whichever way is easiest. Soon enough you'll find you can read it yourself but for now I am more than happy to translate."

"Well yeah that's what I wanted to ask about," Nino said, looking back at his notebook. "When you said this part meant 'lower stones' is that a literal translation? I knew there was ranking but it seems weird that they would be addressed like that."

Wayzz paused, thinking over the question. "Well yes it is rather literal. In the text there are several language barriers present when the name for the five stones is spoken. Translated from the characters is the word 'Quin' which comes from the Latin word 'Quinque' which I _believe_ means five. Once written in the text there was the added line 'of the' which would word for word translate to 'of the five.' I figured just referring to them by rank was more straightforward."

"...right," Nino said slowly, not really feeling like his question was answered even if it probably was. "So the character looks pretty similar to the next time you said 'lower stones' but there is like an added curve here? Around the bulk of the character," Nino explained, gesturing to the character he meant with the eraser of his pencil. He couldn't help but watch the drops of water falling from Wayzz anxiously as the kwami flew forward and looked over his shoulder.

"It is still in reference to the five, except the literal meaning is 'five of seven' and speaking of them in terms of the whole."

"Oh, oh oh okay," Nino said in understanding, marking the two characters down with that brief explanation. He was happy to have that wayward curve explained, because now it was fairly safe to assume the _next_ passage was talking about the seven as a whole since it appeared in almost every line.

"I admire your attention to detail," Wayzz said with pride in his voice, drifting back towards his tank with a smile.

"Well diligence is one of the values listed so I figured it wouldn't hurt," Nino said with a weary chuckle, already having a headache after only two hours into his studying.

"Fortitude…" he murmured to himself, creating a bullet point list in his notes. "Probably the turtle… cunning is the fox. Truth is probably… the peacock if only cause diligence doesn't make sense for the peacock. The butterfly is definitely cooperation because it's bad part is control which would mean Hawkmoth. Then the bee is diligence… which makes sense. Bee's work hard."

Nino paused, his pencil hanging above the paper as he glanced down at his own miraculous.

With Jade Turtle came the danger of apathy… why apathy?

He could see that… sort of. Especially if that same Jade was a guardian as most of them were. It would be easy to draw your head into your shell (har har) and stop giving a damn completely. If you were a guardian you could look at all the greatest powers in the world at the drop of a hat. He could see how anything else would struggle to compare.

He tapped a flat rhythm idly against the book, frowning to himself as he rubbed at his temple. He had briefly rested his face in one hand when he heard suddenly, "Nino, let's take a break."

"Hm?" he said, lifting his head to see Wayzz holding Will and watching him with a smile.

"You've been working hard and it's nearly dinner time. You wouldn't want to skip a meal with such an important patrol coming up."

Nino blinked, an uneasy feeling settling in his chest as he looked at his floor. "Eh… yeah you're probably right."

"Don't be nervous," Wayzz said cheerily, "it will be great! Although," Wayzz added with a slightly teasing tone, "I believe you are forgetting something of importance."

"Oh no what!" Nino said a tad frantically, gently putting the book aside so he could stand. "I've been obsessing about this all day! Should I bring something? It's just patrol but…"

Wayzz interrupted him with a laugh, setting Will down on his log before zipping out towards his charge.

"I'm sure it will be nice, even if it will be with all four of you as it stands."

"What?" Nino said, tilting his head and staring at Wayzz in confusion. The turtle only floated there with an amused expression before Nino went still, eyes widening.

"Oh _crap."_ Nino groaned sharply, burying his face in his hands before he said, "I didn't even think about the other two."

"You still have time if you would like to tell them you have it covered," Wayzz comforted him, darting forward to lift Nino's phone from the bed. "Tell them you'd like them to celebrate finally being together and that you'll handle patrol on your own. It is easily fixed."

"Nice catch little buddy, you get split pea for that one," Nino announced as he took the phone. "Go find a can while I call, no one else is home so you're good."

"I'll start the water for your macaroni," Wayzz said with a chuckle, gone in a flash as Nino blew out a lungful of air and lifted his phone to his ear.

Nino waited, tapping his foot at twice the tempo of the ringing as he waited. It rung and rung and rung again, and just as he was getting annoyed there was a voice on the other end.

" _Hey Nino!"_ Adrien's voice greeted him and Nino smiled.

"Hey man, sorry if you're busy."

" _No it's good I'm in the car,"_ he explained vaguely and Nino nodded to himself.

"Alright you don't gotta say one way or the either out loud but just letting you know I've got patrol tonight so don't worry about it."

" _Woah wait why?"_ Adrien asked quickly. " _You did it yesterday! You don't have to me and uh… we're good to go with you. You can even just take it off if you want."_

"No, no man I insist. You guys should celebrate and stuff, uh well. If there is still something to celebrate? You never actually called me about what went down with your dad."

Adrien's voice hesitated and Nino felt a chill of unease before he heard, " _It went like… unnervingly well. Can't say now but uh, yeah i'll tell you later but it's good i think, at least for now. Which is weird."_

Nino breathed out a sigh of relief, Adrien's chuckle making him think the whoosh of air was probably audible but it was actually a load off his mind.

"Well good you guys don't deserve him giving you crap. That's why I've got patrol okay? So don't worry."

" _Dude are you sure? Like-"_

"I just uh, need the time to think," Nino covered quickly, cutting his friend off as he paced his room. "Running around and stuff is good. Keeps me busy and all."

Adrien was quiet for a little, before finally, " _...well. Alright if you really want to. But if something is wrong tell me okay?"_

"Yeah I'll call you guys if there is any trouble," Nino said, his tone relieved as he started walking out towards the kitchen.

" _Not what I meant and you know it,"_ Adrien stated firmly, Nino frowning to himself before Adrien spoke again. " _I won't push but its obvious man. I love you bro I'll see you tomorrow then."_

"Love you too," Nino said simply, his face neutral now even as Wayzz peered at him over a slowly boiling pot of water. "See you tomorrow."

They traded last goodbyes before Nino hung up, taking a slow breath as he leaned onto the counter, distractedly watching the water churn.

He could feel Wayzz watching him but he didn't look over, too busy thinking through what he was meant to say to his friend. Part of him really wanted help with the whole girl thing, and he knew Adrien would be there for him, but part of him also wanted to figure it out alone. Not to mention all the guardian crap… he hadn't even told the duo about all that yet, not that he really had the chance. As was often the case, way too much happened all at once.

He knew the thing that should be forefront on his concerns was taking over the mantle for arguably one of the most important people in the world, but it wasn't.

It was him worrying about how he couldn't actually look any better or worse in a turtle themed super suit and how that probably killed the date vibe a little.

Nino thumped his head lightly against the tile countertop, groaning to himself now that he didn't have his studies directly distracting him.

"What am I going to do man," he muttered into the tile, hoping Wayzz would hear him. "I can't do this, why did I ask."

"Because you like her," Wayzz said simply, almost sounding exasperated if he didn't know better. And a little winded.

Nino looked up to see Wayzz hovering a tad precariously over the boiling water holding the much too large for him pasta box, Nino lunging forward to snatch the kwami back and grab the box from him.

"Let me do that little man," he blurted out. "I don't even know how you actually got the water boiling to start with."

"Stop worrying," Wayzz said, undeterred as he resigned himself to watching Nino pour the uncooked pasta in.

"You like her, she likes you. The matter is simple, now just go through with the date."

Nino muttered something unintelligible as he pouted, leaving to find a spoon to stir with. It sounded vaguely like, 'Don't tell me what to do,' but Wayzz couldn't be sure.

It made him laugh anyways.


	15. Chapter 15

**_'Relax young master, it will be great. She'll be waiting for you at this rate.'_**

"Yup," Jade Turtle muttered aloud, nervously shifting his shield on his arm as he looked over the edge of his apartment building into the night life of Paris. "Here I go…"

The hero continued to stare into the steadily streaming lights of the streets far below him, fidgeting with his shield again. "Any second now…"

 ** _'Tell me what you're afraid of,'_** Wayzz asked quietly, his voice low and… soothing. Now that he had experienced it the calmness of it now always reminded him of what it felt like to be underwater, looking up. Comfortable and enveloping.

"How much time have you got?"

 ** _'As I see it Nino,'_** he said with a quiet chuckle, the sound echoing in Jade's mind as he nervously stepped towards the edge. ' ** _You doubted yourself every waking moment with things of much greater consequence. If you falter in a step or flounder a word, you know what she'll do. She'll smile, she'll laugh. She'll be playful and kind, you're afraid of some horrible outcome that doesn't exist. You have such a great weight on your shoulders… you deserve this.'_**

The tone Wayzz ended his sentiment caught Jade off guard, the hero's gaze shifting towards his bracelet.

"Are you alright Wayzz?" he asked, noticing the friendly chuckle as it sounded in his mind.

 ** _'You always find the time to worry for others, this only furthers my point. You're so noble and kind, and I know she makes you happy. She makes you nervous, but happy. I want you to have this, I know you'll smile and laugh the whole way through. Please have confidence Nino, you will have a great time.'_**

Jade paused, the arm that bore his miraculous raised slightly as Wayzz finished speaking. The way Wayzz's words settled at the end of a sentence always gave away when he was finished with what he was saying, nothing more to add for probably the next while. Jade felt his kwami go quiet, settling back to be passive from then on out like he was offering privacy as best as he was capable.

Wayzz had said similar things leading all the way up to when he transformed in preparation to leave but he never got tired of doing it. He was kind and patient… quietly reminding Nino that he wanted him to be happy, no matter what the path to happiness may be. Whether it meant going through with the date or staying in Wayzz offered his support, even if he had a preference…

Jade only hesitated for a moment more as a gentle breeze ruffled the soft material of his hood, currently raised as he prepared to jump with the gentle encouragement of his friend in his mind. Even when Wayzz was quiet he knew he was there…

It made him feel better.

"Thanks buddy…" he said aloud, pulling his shield free so he could skate down, already pitching his weight forward. "You're right but… I appreciate that you keep saying it."

Jade stepped forward, his weight carrying him over the edge and the sudden sensation of falling sending a jolt of adrenaline through his chest, even as he positioned his shield so he could effortlessly coast down. Wayzz made no move to respond but Jade knew he wouldn't. This was his show now.

"Don't freak out, don't freak out," the hero whispered to himself, tensing his legs to brace for the pressure of landing and leaning forward to shoot out from the alley and into the street. He was only exposed for a few moments as he cut across the street and into another alley way, darting to and from dark thin alleys between buildings as he headed into the city. "It's just a date with a girl you really like," he muttered in an almost sing song like tone, banking hard and cutting abruptly uptown. "A girl whose probably twice as smart as you… just a patrol nothing big nothing flashy just a… oh god," he muttered, shaking his head and almost knocking his hood loose as he sped up a deserted side street.

He wasn't heading to her house, but rather their bench. It was safer for the two of them to meet up without traveling there together, so she wasn't blatantly seen spending recreational time with a superhero. At least this way they could pretend it was an interview until they could get up and out of sight on the patrol route.

Part of him wished he had insisted on something slightly more impressive, but another part of him was grateful it was something hard to mess up. It was basically a walk, hard to screw up a walk. Except walks left a lot of time for talking which he most definitely could screw up.

Ah Jesus…

"It's good," he muttered, turning down familiar side streets towards the river. "It's good I'm good, everything is alright."

He ran through his mental list of conversation topics as he closed the final gap, the river lit up by the moon coming into view before he finally decided to do away with all his premade plans completely.

Alya wasn't the sort of girl to be alright with light meaningless chitchat… talking to her before had never been this hard.

He was hoping it would be like that again.

When he exited the tight space of an alleyway into the sudden open plain of the street and the expanse of the river beyond it he felt exposed, like he was a mouse darting from one baseboard to the next. He wasn't hiding, but he sort of wanted to, it was so weird to feel like that here. He hadn't been Jade for very long at all but the river felt more like his turf than anywhere else in the city. Feeling anxious there was bizarre, and actually sort of difficult. As he coasted forward, effortlessly zipping over the gentle curve of the well-worn bridgeway, he felt just a little calmer. A little more balanced, just a bit surer of himself. Being in such a comfortable place had definitely been a good move… and he felt even more of that calm when their bench came into view.

That all went out the window when he saw her though, waiting there under the light of a street lamp, sat primly in her seat.

She was gently lit by the light of the lamp, pouring over her softly as her hands toyed idly with a few of the strands in her hair, one of the more feminine gestures of distraction he had ever seen in her he noted. Her hair was almost always worn in shining curls that complimented the sloping gradient of red and this was no exception, except the way it fell was unique. It was all pulled forward, flowing over the shoulder angled away from him and in range of her fidgeting fingers, revealing the length of her neck and a fair sight of her collarbone. The dress she wore showed it nicely, but tastefully, the flash of something gold at her ear catching his eye for a moment before he was distracted again, tracking down the sightline of her frame as she leaned back on the bench, her head slowly scanning the area for him.

The dress was striped, alternating blue and white and something he distantly remembered seeing before at one outing or another with friends. This time however she paired it with a brown belt with gold buckle pulling the fabric in at her waist and showing her figure. Black leggings covered the curve of her legs, falling into black boots with another small gold buckle at the clasp. The gold scattered through her outfit flashed as she shifted, her face tilting his direction before suddenly, she caught sight of him.

"I can't" Jade said aloud, his voice strained as his board brought him to the end of the bridge without his guidance, slowing down now. "Wayzz dude I _can't_."

' ** _Stop being a baby and get out there!'_** Wayzz's voice suddenly scolded, and though Jade could never prove it, it almost felt like the board corrected its course on its own, forcing him to make the turn and head towards her bench. The bench.

Their bench.

Though the journey took practically no physical effort he felt a little short of breath, his dismount less than elegant and he stumbled and stopped a few feet away, bending to collect his shield but faltering again as she grinned, brightly and genuinely.

"You came!" she exclaimed as he collected his shield and himself, if only a little. "I sorta thought you'd turtled out for a second there."

"Turtled?" he asked, watching her as she stood and focusing intently on her eyes to keep from ogling.

She looked nice in dresses.

"Yeah," she answered, chuckling a little to herself as she closed the distance with a few heavy clicks of her boots. "You know like, pulled out, ran for cover." Her grin widened. "Bailed?"

"What?" he sputtered, "No way never, I was gonna be here." That was mostly true, he liked to think he wouldn't have ever actually called it off.

 ** _'Say something else!'_** he heard suddenly, a spark of irritation flooding through him along with his general nervousness as he noticed that Wayzz wasn't being as passive as he had implied he'd be. But it was good advice.

"You look beautiful," he blurted out, heat creeping up his neck as he watched her react. Her eyes widened, the complexion of her face darkening ever so slightly as she grinned again, giggling and dipping her face a little to look up at him over the edge of her glasses.

"Not looking bad yourself Ninja Turtle," she replied finally after a moment of silence, beaming up at him more confidently now if it was even possible. Alya was always so confident in herself.

The image of her toying with her hair flashed in his mind for a moment, compared suddenly to the wide smile she bore now as he stood in front of her and it occurred to him… Had she really been worried he wouldn't show?

"You look nice in a dress," he managed to say, surprising even himself a little. "I don't see you in them often."

The words hung in the air for a second, the quiet sounds of Paris at night swirling around them and dominated by the gentle and persistent sound of water flowing to their left. Alya smiled, an expression that looked equally as good on her as she replied with a fake pouting tone and said, "You don't see me much in general."

"I could stand for more of both," he answered easily, a grin finding its way on his face as he watched her react again. Alya snorted dismissively like the line was lame and hadn't landed but her smile remained at the corner of her lips. He bit back a chuckle.

It had a lot to do with that one nervous gesture he hadn't been meant to see, with the girl waiting nervously on a bench by the river. He wasn't the only one in unfamiliar territory right now, and that made it easier.

"So," she opened. "You promised me patrol."

"I did," he agreed, looking away and out towards the river as he contemplated before looking away again, this time towards the buildings on their side of the water. "We'll be doing B's and Scratch's route."

He turned at her huff and giggle, watching with a smirk as she eyed him incredulously.

"You call him Scratch? Seriously?"

"I call him everything," he replied with a shrug, looking back towards the buildings as he tried to plan a safe way up. "He calls me turtle son I call him something else equally as stupid. Fair is fair."

That got a pretty good laugh out of her, the sound full and echoing out over the river. He laughed with her for a moment before she forced words through her giggles, asking "Is your route different than theirs? I thought you took the river."

"I do, but I've got my board and unless you'd like me to carry you…" He let the sentence trail off, grinning at her playfully just to see her roll her eyes, but her eyes were dangerous. If only because they were equally as playful.

"I'm not against the idea," she replied, her lips quirking up at one side when he looked suddenly flustered. "But you might have to work a little harder for that one. And Michelangelo I know you'd probably throw a fit sooner or later letting me walk on rooftops, so how about a compromise." She reached out, taking his shield from him and holding it easily enough despite the weight to it as she used it to gesture to the Seine. "How about you use your magical shield here and make it big enough for two people?"

He paused, blinking slowly as his lips pursed and he hummed, looking out towards the water. "Right," he finally said, rubbing at the back of his neck as he chuckled. "I can do that."

She laughed at him, taking his shield with her and beckoning with it for him to follow her as she went.

"You could get wet," he warned her, watching her climb over the edge of the railing and look down towards the water.

She huffed, raising an eyebrow and smiling when she looked back at him. "Do I look like Elphaba to you? Water won't kill me."

"Oookay," he drew out the word, smirking at the glare she gave him next.

"That is _not_ an invitation to soak me by the way."

"I would never!"

* * *

A short while later Jade found himself sat towards the front of his extended shield, using his situated weight to counterbalance Alya's sat across from him as well as propel their makeshift craft forward. From the outside it might look a little awkward with them both sitting there, Alya with her legs crossed as she eagerly leaned out over the edge to watch the pitch black water flow beneath them. However in reality, it was rather comfortable.

"Makes for a good speedboat," Alya commented benignly, pausing in her sightseeing to look at him. He didn't look away from her much, she noticed. He would to steer the shield occasionally, but never to take in the sights. The small fact made her smile.

He hummed in vague agreement, meeting her eyes and stunning her for a moment.

"You seem pretty contented," she noted, aiming for conversation as he briefly looked away to navigate a gently sloping curve in the waterway.

He nodded, smiling to himself before looking back to her and grinning fully. "The water makes me calmer. This is pretty cool, just boating like this. I'm sure you being here is a pretty major player though." He winked.

She giggled, feeling a little warm as she looked down at the pattern lining the inside of the shell they were sat in. He wasn't just contented he was much more confident now too. Talk about being in his natural element.

"Yo, Donatello," she said, calmly and innocently reaching for his hand in a way she knew would stump him. "Tell me something."

She snickered quietly as her assumption proved correct, Jade flushing instantly the moment her hand grabbed his but fighting to keep it cool. "Uh, yeah?"

"We talked about the 'safety card'" she started, using her free hand to half form air quotes that he was too distracted to scowl at. She focused on the feeling of his gloved hand. "And _we_ decided that the safety card was bogus right?"

Even with the distraction he frowned a little. "I wouldn't call it bogus."

"Jade," she sighed, shaking her head a little and not reaching out to stop the curls from falling over her shoulders. "Okay, the mildly bogus safety card."

There was a small stretch of silence before he met her eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"You're still really cautious, and I understand it," she cut back in quickly when he started to look upset, gripping his hand a little tighter. "You're compromising I appreciate that. I'm just wondering if…" she trailed off. Internally she cursed, knowing she was never like this and feeling like it was a little pathetic honestly. She had always just said what she meant and what she wanted, she had never had more qualifiers in a sentence in her life. So in a way that felt much more her she said, "I'm worried your safety clause isn't going to let me see you as often as I want to."

His expression was mixed, conflicted. In the light of the moon reflecting off the water his face was softly lit, contemplation clear in the gold of his eyes. She was a little surprised when she felt him return the gentle pressure on her hand.

"Private boat ride on the Seine not enough?" he joked lightly, his heart not really in it as he watched her.

"No," she returned firmly. He smiled at that.

"Well good," he said genuinely, looking away as if holding her gaze was suddenly too much to ask of him. "I was worried I had peaked."

She laughed quietly, the subdued tone they shared making the moment that much more private. This was weird for a first date, obviously, especially within the first half hour but…

She wanted to ensure there were more.

"I like seeing you," he stated simply, his voice showing his nervousness more than his expression. "So I will, but I'll still be careful. Humor me with that alright? I promise I won't see you any less because of it."

"That's all I ask," she said with a quiet chuckle, winking at him when he met her eyes. "You still owe me seeing ALL of the patrol routes."

Jade laughed, the sound pleasant as he more bravely held her hand. He lifted it, setting their linked hands lightly on his outstretched leg, his skin warm even through the suit's material.

He hummed, looking up the walls of the river around them, thinking aloud. "For a dude so worried about safety we are pretty out in the open. I'm sure it's fine but like…" He stopped short, expression twisting slightly before he shrugged, pretending to brush it off but she could see through him. "It's fine. This is nice."

"Would you be more comfortable if we waited somewhere a bit more out of sight?" she offered, humoring him as he had asked even if she thought it was paranoid. Admittedly it was sort of cute.

"Weell uh," he stalled, looking around them, "We don't _have_ to but like-"

He was interrupted by her giggle, the hero turning to look at her and smiling sheepishly as he realized she obviously had him pegged.

"That bridge is pretty big," she said, gesturing forward towards a fairly large bridge which provided a good deal of cover from the street side. Lights to help guide tourist boats and ferry liners dotted the underneath, casting soft blue light on the water. "Wanna just hole up there for a little? You're not really 'patrolling' much anyways."

He shrugged again, a small smile on his face as he navigated them towards the bridge. "If anything actually big happened the others would be on it."

"Yeah, are they out patrolling now too?" she asked innocently, not expecting him to look suddenly nervous again.

"Oh uh well," he stalled, slowly pulling the shield to a stop in the center of the archway. "No, nah they're home. Doing their thing. I told them I had it covered tonight."

"But you're like the only one who _wouldn't_ be patrolling tonight?" she questioned.

"Yeah well, uh." He sighed suddenly, looking embarrassed as he used his free hand to gesture towards her loosely. "You saw the whole Turtle Son thing that happened before. They're so embarrassing, if they came across us it would be ridiculous."

She gawked at him for a moment before she burst out laughing, rocking the shell a little as she bent forward and actually snorted between bouts of laughter. She tried to speak a few times as he sputtered out a defense, his own words broken up as he started to laugh too.

"No come on you saw them!" he tried again, releasing her hand to grab her shoulders to try and get her to look at him. "Can't you see it? 'Oh Jade look at you, oh she's nice isn't she! Oh we're so proud!'"

Alya laughed harder, grabbing onto his arms for support as they both devolved into snickers.

"'You should have brought her to meet us!'" Alya pantomimed, obviously mimicking Ladybug and making Jade snort. She kept going, adding on to it and playing it up almost exclusively to watch the hero giggle manically. "'When is dinner? Oh she has our blessing Jade how nice!'"

"S-stop!" he begged, the shell rocking dangerously now and forcing them to keep holding onto each other. "Come on its fair! That's exactly how they are!"

Alya's forehead fell to lean against his chest, snickering into the green material as he bowed his own head, chuckling into her hair and pressing his masked face against the soft cotton dress as he held her. It was so they didn't tip over, they told themselves. They kept laughing, giggling to themselves and occasionally looking up to mimic one of the duo cooing over them until they both almost fell again, completely oblivious to the bright green pair of eyes peering upside down from the Bridgeway to the archway underneath.

Cat Noir gaped in absolute shock, a huge open mouth smile dominating his face as he desperately tried to keep his giggles from being heard. Maintaining his claw hold on the ridges of the bridge to keep him from falling in the water and ruining the moment was hard but there was no way he could give himself away now.

What an absolute _blessing_ he had stumbled upon. He knew Jade wanted to be 'left alone' so he could think so he hadn't called him when he set out from Marinette's house for a small patrol of his own. To be totally honest he was worried about his friend, who seemed so heavy and distracted the past while but _oooooh_ , OH no, this was it. Time alone his ass.

He cackled quietly as he scrambled back up, climbing onto the bridge and still grinning at the sound of laughter that had led him there in the first place as he pulled out his staff, opening the phone gadget and pointing the camera part down as he slowly extended it over the edge.

* * *

Marinette was drawing on her bed, idly passing the time until Adrien returned when her phone went off, vibrating on the sheets and demanding her attention. She quickly grabbed it so it didn't wake Tikki who was out cold on a plate of mostly devoured cookies nearby, unlocking the screen and smiling at who had messaged her. There wasn't a name, just a Cat Paw emoji that made her giggle.

She opened the message, her eyes glancing across the attached commentary before actually seeing the mostly blue lit photo beneath it, her brow furrowing in temporary confusion.

It said 'Oh you have _got_ to come down here.'

Then below was a photo, taken sneakily and revealing the form of an archway. And sitting on the water?

Alya, smiling and blushing brightly over a very familiar green clad shoulder, both of them holding each other and perched out of sight on the water of the Seine.

 **((For those who don't know I have recently injured my right hand very badly and writing is painful. Because of this I ask everyone to be understanding of slow updates and possible hiatus as I need them. Thank you :) and dont worry writing this didnt hurt as i took my time doing it.))**


	16. Chapter 16

Nino couldn't help but feel like something was… weird. For a while he had chalked it up to nerves since it was finally Friday again… and he knew what that meant. His 'textbook' weighed heavily in his bag but he didn't risk removing it to cram as the school day went by, regardless of how much he wanted to. He was expected to meet Fu right after school pretty much, at least he'd have to leave straight from school to walk there in time… and for the most part it was all he could think about.

That and Alya.

And whatever was _really_ weird with Marinette and Adrien.

At the thought of the trio seated around him Nino looked over his shoulder, glancing subtly towards where Alya was sitting, playing with her phone under the desk. It was the last class of the day and everyone was itching to get released for the weekend but Alya seemed especially antsy. She scowled slightly as one hand scrolled through something unseen and her other idly tapped at her desk, her hair concealing her actions for the most part from the teacher. He risked a few more seconds before looking forward again, or attempting to when his gaze was caught by Adrien's.

And there was that _stupid_ smile again.

Adrien beamed at him, looking to all the world like Nino had just _made his day_ and the DJ couldn't grasp what the hell was up with him. He had been doing that all week now, him **and** Marinette.

" _Bro,"_ Nino hissed under his breath, missing the connection between snuck glances and Adrien's behavior. He was mostly just confused and annoyed, but Adrien said nothing, chuckling to himself before stealing a glance backwards himself and settling back in his seat.

Nino sighed, Wayzz shifted, and they both went back to waiting out the clock.

The week had been weird, mostly because Adrien was being stupid and refused to explain himself. He'd just grin like a kid at Disneyland _randomly,_ look over at Marinette then go back to business as usual. Marinette was pretty much the same, except hers came more in smirks and snickers. Nino had shrugged it off for a while but at this point he was feeling like the butt of some inside joke they had and it was rubbing him the wrong way. He didn't have the energy to figure it out, he had way too much going on. He was more focused on keeping up with his schoolwork, guardian training, meetups with Alya and sleeping at some point too to care. Except he did care, and he wished they'd just knock it off already.

His thoughts lingered for a moment on his nighttime rendezvouses with Alya, something that had become a nightly ritual for the two of them. After the first night had gone so well, something that still stunned him, she kept wanting to see him. And he kept wanting to oblige. It was mostly just the two of them on her roof, talking until they got tired but it was the best they could do. It was enough for now.

Nino found himself smiling, looking down at the desk as he thought things through. Were they dating now? Would it be wise to even say as much? He didn't know… but… he sighed. In a way it was incredibly lame, how happy he was over all this. He wanted to turn around and chat with her, wait out the end of class passing notes and laughing. And maybe he _could_ do that, but not like he could as Jade. It would be just friends if he did it now, if it was just Nino and Alya. When it was _Jade_ and Alya it was… better.

Ugh. Secret identities were stupid.

' ** _Nino_** _'._

To his credit Nino didn't visibly react to Wayzz's weird invasive brain tap thing that he did, his strange feeling flippers pressed into his hair.

' _Bro what did I say about the telepathy thing?'_

 ** _'I wasn't spying though I can guess who you were thinking of.'_**

Nino tensed, eyes narrowing a little as he felt suddenly warm with embarrassment. He was about to retort when Wayzz continued.

 ** _'She's thinking of you too, for the record. She's messaging you.'_**

' _Wait seriously?'_ Nino thought, trying to keep his reaction inside as he glanced behind him again. Alya was still staring at her phone. ' _What do they say?'_

 ** _'You told me not to read your messages.'_**

 _'Wayzz,'_ Nino internally groaned, and he wasn't quite sure if the kwami was chuckling aloud until Adrien turned, looking at him in confusion before his eyes drifted up towards his cap and he smiled knowingly.

 ** _'Something along the lines of, are you sure you can't hang out tonight? I took the liberty of responding and saying that no you were busy.'_**

This time Nino _did_ react, tensing and staring down at his desk.

' _Dude if I don't let you read them you_ _ **definitely**_ _can't answer for me man!'_

 _'_ _ **I didn't answer for you I answered for me,'**_ Wayzz responded, sounding very entertained. ** _'I told her you were busy but that you'd see her tomorrow unless notified otherwise. I'm not sure she believes it's me responding instead of you.'_**

 _'Oh my god Wayzz please, what are you doing man.'_

 ** _'I don't understand why I'm not allowed to talk to her.'_**

Nino couldn't help but drop his head in his hands, one hand reaching up to firmly settle his cap and squish Wayzz just a tad. ' _Because you're a secret!'_

 ** _'You keep saying how trustworthy she is, and she already knows about the existence of kwamis. You're just afraid I'll embarrass you and that's completely unfair.'_**

Just then, the bell rang and Nino sighed in relief. He internally muttered a 'we'll talk about this later' as he stood, stooping to grab his bag and looking one last time behind him.

Alya was staring intensely at her phone, almost smiling but mostly looking skeptical as she read through whatever was on her screen. As the class packed up Alya's eyes lit up, a nearly inaudible tone chiming from her phone as she flipped through something new.

' _Wayzz are you_ _ **still**_ _texting her?!'_

 _'_ _ **She's very good conversation.'**_

 _'How does that even work? Are you just magically answering her?'_

 ** _'Wouldn't you like to know.'_**

Nino sighed aloud, drawing Adrien's attention who raised an eyebrow but Nino waved him off, standing to the side to wait for the group to head out.

Adrien stepped up to Marinette's seat, leaning over to say something quietly in her ear, the designer giggling a little and nodding about something or other. They paired off and headed towards the door, Nino instinctively waiting for Alya who was lagging a little behind as she answered some text part of him wished she wasn't receiving but… eh. Whatever, he trusted Wayzz to play it safe and he seemed to be having fun.

Alya walked through the door, blindly following the recently established couple out into the hallway and towards the stairs leading down. Nino couldn't help it, glancing over her shoulder. It was rude to read people's phones but like… he felt like he had a little extra credence.

He felt a prickle of something almost like static shoot down the back of his neck as he caught a brief view of the conversation, the thing he noticed most being the small turtle emoji acting in place of a name on the contact. He only saw a few messages, but it was enough to make him a little anxious.

A: 'So, saying I believe you. Tell me a little about yourself.'

The response was perfectly punctuated, admittedly very different from his own messages.

"Perhaps it would be safest if I didn't, though I'm sure you're curious. –W"

A: "Obviously!"

"Obviously. I must remain firm, I'm sure Jade will look back at these as soon as he's able. -W"

A: "That could be awhile, if he's as busy as you've implied."

Then, as he was watching in that exact moment Wayzz responded.

"Sooner than you might think actually, he's very keen to know what we're discussing. –W"

Nino blinked before looking quickly away, rolling his eyes when he heard Wayzz snicker again.

' _You've been hanging out with Plagg too much.'_

 ** _'Oh come now I'm doing no harm.'_**

' _You're very giddy today.'_

 ** _'It's your first proper guardian training. I'm not allowed to be excited for you?'_**

With the reminder fresh in his head Nino's pace slowed a bit, Alya walking out ahead of him as the spark of unease he had been fighting for most of the day flared up again.

He had studied as much as he was capable, reading the book was incredibly difficult but he had made progress. Still though… he couldn't help but feel like he was wildly out of his depth. In the end though… he had signed up. Once he shook Master Fu's hand there was no going back, Fu had made that very clear. And knowing even what little he did now because of his acceptance he could understand that. He had barely started but he could understand how dangerous it would be for information like that to fall into the wrong hands.

Nino followed his friends down into the court yard, Wayzz's presence leaving his mind for a moment as the kwami apparently got wrapped up in his little chat with a girl who was only a few feet away. Nino was running through a small bullet pointed list of what he had read from his book last night when he realized Adrien had drawn up short just inside the main doors, speaking conversationally.

"Glad it's the weekend," he said simply, glancing outside for his car but content to wait in the shade of the doorway.

Marinette hummed in agreement, turning to Alya who looked up from her phone with a smile. "I've finally got a little time to relax, how about you Alya?" The question seemed pointed and Adrien was smirking. "Are you busy?"

"Not today," she said, Nino smiling a little himself when he caught the edge of disappointment in her voice. "Hopefully the rest of it though." Weirdly the couple of the group looked surprised.

"You Nino?" Adrien immediately turned on him, Nino raising an eyebrow at how expectant it sounded.

"Yeah I said earlier I was really busy today," Nino said with a slight pause, kind of wondering why Adrien was asking for him to reiterate it, growing more confused when Adrien and Marinette traded a look.

"Whatcha up to?" Alya asked, keeping the conversation going as they collectively waited for Adrien to get picked up before going home.

"Eh, you know," Nino shrugged, looking away.

"Geology?" Alya chuckled, looking over her glasses at him and he laughed nervously.

"Yeah," he answered lamely. "Geology."

"Geology?" Marinette echoed.

"Yeaah…" Nino said again, stepping away from the group. "Actually I should probably head out, I'd wait for you bro but uh…" He trailed off.

Alya had lost interest, looking back at her phone but Marinette and Adrien were watching him.

Nino couldn't help his slight huff, pretty much done with the duo being freaking weird. He was mostly just agitated about possibly running late, he wasn't really that annoyed with them but he definitely didn't give them his patience as he left. The both of them were thrown off for sure but if they were going to be lame and keep stuff unsaid then he didn't need to feel bad for not explaining himself. He gave a quick 'see you later' before he jogged down the steps, turning away from the direction of his home and looking both ways before crossing the street.

Marinette and Adrien watched him leave, noting the odd direction before looking back at each other. Adrien was just acknowledging that they had probably been annoying him when Alya chuckled to herself.

"I wonder what he's so embarrassed about," she said through a laugh, glancing away from her phone in the direction Nino had headed. She looked to Marinette with a smile. "He said 'geology' before too a little while ago. Pretty sure it's his go to 'I'm busy and don't wanna say what' answer. Like, what do you think it is, is he taking yoga or something and doesn't wanna talk about it?"

Alya snickered at the thought, commenting in a mostly idle way without paying full mind to it but the others seemed intrigued by it, shooting each other another look.

"I don't know," Adrien answered, trying to act causal. "I actually thought he meant he was going to hang out with you or something when he said he was busy earlier, then you said you were free."

"Me? No I haven't seen Nino outside of school in like, awhile," Alya said without looking up from her text conversation. "He's probably just shy about something, doesn't really matter anyways. I wouldn't bug him about it."

Adrien blinked, seeming to consider it before he just shrugged, laughing as he readjusted his bag. "Yeah you're right, maybe he's doing ballet or something. Be a good way for him to unwind."

The group laughed together, Marinette snickering at the thought of Nino killing it in a tutu before she caught a flash of chrome from the corner of her eye. She tapped Adrien on the shoulder and gestured towards his waiting car, it was cute how he pouted a little.

"Alright see you ladies later," Adrien said charmingly, suppressing a sigh. He leaned down quickly to kiss Marinette goodbye before he zipped down the steps, sliding into his seat in the back and missing Alya's playful comment to Marinette.

"Ya'll are cute together," she said with an elated grin. "He's a great boyfriend for you, seriously."

"You ought to get one," Mari said playfully, swelling with happiness at Alya's retort.

"Working on it."


	17. Chapter 17

Nino hesitated outside of Master Fu's home, waiting with his back to the outer wall for Fu's last customer of the day to clear out. He could hear voices just beyond the door, chatting idly as the patron was walked out. He didn't attempt to overhear, he had no reason too or interest, not that he would have had the peace of mind to even try. His thoughts flickered between headings and facts he had done his best to memorize as the door opened, a slender woman stepping out in his peripheral and thanking the man who walked her out.

"Have a good day Madame," Fu said with a smile, watching her leave for a moment as if to ensure space before he turned and looked at Nino. "Right on time young man, a good start. Come in."

Nino pushed off the wall, moving quickly to obey and stepping inside. When the door swung shut and the locked clicked into space the small professional space seemed to age, hung suddenly with importance and calm far more ancient then its walls. Nino was made aware again of that familiar building pressure as they stepped from the hallway to Fu's workspace, an intangible force and inaudible sound resonating from the far wall. It wasn't pecking or pestering like it had been before, but it was still there, aware of his presence as much as he was aware of its.

Nino tensed when he felt his cap get knocked slightly askew, reacting naturally to having Wayzz fly away from him but he relaxed about as quickly, smiling as he watched his kwami greet its old master.

"Hello old friend," Fu said warmly, cradling Wayzz in one hand as he smiled down at him. "Have you been well?"

"Yes master," he answered happily, turning to gesture to Nino who had moved to examine the chest where the stones lay hidden. "He's been working incredibly hard, you'll be pleased with his progress."

"I'm sure he's been diligent," Fu looked over at his student who was absorbed with his own thoughts before lowering his voice. "Though he looks burdened. Is all well?"

Wayzz's smile dropped a little, the kwami holding the old man's gaze when it returned to him. "He's had a lot going on, and no small part of his anxiety stems from his training today. I hope that going through a lesson will ease his worries some."

"Ah, I should have assumed as much." Fu nodded his head, looking up and calling out to the boy across the room. "Come Nino, sit. Let's talk."

Nino looked up sharply, apprehension clear in his eyes but he shook it off quickly, moving to a place opposite Master Fu before sitting cross legged on the ground. Fu joined him, perhaps a little stiffly but Nino made no comment, instead sitting patiently.

"Show me where you are," Fu instructed, gesturing to Nino's bag and smiling as Nino hurried to gently pull free the ancient book that had been his guide.

"I haven't made it very far…" Nino admitted a bit sheepishly, turning about fifteen or so pages in from the cover. Each page was densely packed with lettering and segmented passages, having slowed his down tremendously. "Working through chunk by chunk is slow."

Fu turned the book with one hand, humming as he looked over the page Nino had landed on. He flipped quickly through what Nino claimed to have accomplished, and to Nino's surprise he beamed.

"These are some very important passages you've gone through already young man, do not be displeased with your work. The book covers more time than most history books ever penned, and much more completely. There is far more here than many would assume." Fu turned the book back to face Nino, folding his hands in his lap. "It is important to remember the key points it teaches. Tell me, what are the main things you recall? And what makes you believe they are of consequence."

"All of it seems important," Nino said slowly, looking down at the book and wondering if it would be cheating to flip through. "I was surprised to learn how important the stones have been to history, I knew they were old but I didn't put it together that they would have been used to turn the tide in major events. Miraculous wielders have decided to outcome of wars and the survival of empires, which maybe I should have guessed but…"

"History does not teach you of magic and those who understood it. Though heroes rally to protect the people and nightmares crawl the streets and rise from the shadowed reflections of the fearful, many would discredit the existence of magic at all." Fu's eyes twinkled with humor as Nino looked up at him. "Sometimes seeing isn't enough to believe either."

"Still," Nino continued, "it's never even eluded to, no one knows what wars were won by heroes."

"It may be hard to understand, but that is often their desire."

Nino's expression clouded with confusion and Fu pressed on.

"Think of the first akuma you ever saw with your own eyes, before you were taken, before you were Jade. When heroes were a whispered myth and villans a ghost story. How did you feel?"

Nino was slow to answer, taking his thoughts back to the first attack.

"I was afraid," he finally said, wondering if that was the right thing to say. "And confused. I didn't think it was possible."

"Many never did. Though not all may have powers there have been many heroes, and these heroes have risen to champion the darkness of their peers for thousands of years. Wielders throughout time have understood that they could not protect the world in every circumstance, and if people thought wars could only be won should someone far beyond their own capabilities arrive they would lose hope. That is why during the times the stones lay dormant they fall into myth and legend." Fu's expression was serious and incredibly calm as he finally said, "They have to."

Nino was quiet, holding his master's gaze for a moment more before looking away, turning the words over in his mind. "I think I understand… So, people forget and the wielders don't take credit."

"They arrive when they are needed, and once they are no longer needed the stones are put to rest."

Nino blinked, something heavy settling in his chest as he looked up in sudden shock. "Wait, like once the threat passes they just get put away again?"

"No necessarily," Fu said calmly, "it is common for the stones to last through the generation of their chosen wielders, staying with them until they either move on or die. However, if the world continues on its natural course then after the wielders pass there would be no cause for them to remain active."

Nino's brow furrowed as he tried to understand, Fu smiling kindly and giving an example.

"I chose your friends to become the new Ladybug and Cat Noir because an unnatural and terrible threat rose to challenge them. This was no normal human discourse, but something wicked and spiteful beyond the peoples' ability to combat." Fu's eyes darkened, his posture folding slightly as he spoke. "It was magic… dark and terrible. A miraculous stone, wielded as a weapon, not as a shield."

Nino looked down at the book, reaching out to touch the page and speaking mostly to himself in a quiet voice. "Control, instead of cooperation."

Fu nodded, silence stretching between them for a short while before Fu sighed, closing his eyes.

"In this case, when the day comes that Hawkmoth is defeated and his stone is purified the unnatural threat of the akumas will pass. The stones can exist to aid and nourish humanity once again, and should peace return and the people of Paris retake their burdens, Ladybug and Cat Noir can rest."

Nino didn't speak, thinking over what had been said. He was surprised when Fu changed the subject.

"You spoke of control," Fu spoke up, drawing Nino's thoughts elsewhere. "Have you memorized the strengths and weaknesses?"

"Yes!" Nino said a bit eagerly, excited to have something he knew for certain. "Uh…" He ticked them off on his fingers. "Fortitude versus Apathy, Cunning versus Manipulation, Truth versus Arrogance, Cooperation versus Control and… and uh…" He stared blankly for a second before he hit one fist into the palm of his hand. "Diligence versus Selfishness! For the turtle, fox, peacock, butterfly and bee respectively. Right?"

"Right," Fu said with a chuckle. "Well done. And I expect you can tell me about the two near absolutes of the higher stones?"

"Yes!" Nino said again enthusiastically, leaning forward and beyond thrilled to have the answers his master was expecting. He had been studying so hard, it was a massive relief for it to pan out.

A short distance away Wayzz was watching them work, floating over the hidden chest where his comrades lay dormant. As he looked on he saw the past and the future align in the present, colliding for a moment as he bore witness. Fu was listening, his hands folded in his lap as his young student eagerly referenced what he had learned. As his newly acquired knowledge ran dry the old man started to lecture, calmly stating that which had not passed from one living soul to the next in over a hundred and fifty years.

Nino and Fu sat together, the teacher flipping through the pages of the book with practiced ease as the student looked on in awe. What had taken him all week with agonizing detail his predecessor could accomplish effortlessly, reading scrawled text circling faded pictures as if it were his native tongue. Wayzz watched as Nino asked questions, taking off his hat and putting it aside so he could look between the book and his instructor unobstructed, and the simple change made him look very different.

Wayzz hummed, knowing full well it was pride that he was feeling as he turned away, looking down at the phonograph that had been his home for many years. As his friends spoke of times long passed Wayzz floated down, gently placing one fin on the unassuming surface he knew contained the chest. He could feel them, those who lay waiting. They knew he was there.

"You're going to love him," Wayzz said with a quiet chuckle. "As much as you loved Fu. He's a good boy, he'll do right by us all. I promise I'll protect him."

* * *

The last wisps of fire from the sunset were fading in the sky above Paris, the transition from day to night more vibrant and beautiful then it had been in a while. Tourists pointed and photographed the way the last of the sunlight shone off the windows of the ancient buildings, and even those who were lucky enough to live in the city every day took note of how peaceful it looked. It was warm and enveloping, slipping into the gentle reaching blues of twilight.

The colors were especially beautiful when viewed through the gently rippling surface of the Seine.

Jade lay on his back, idly watching the sky darken from his place far beneath the water. To him the water was comfortable, but to others he realized it would likely be unpleasantly cold. It was strange that beneath the water he felt the most like Jade Turtle and the least like Nino, more… 'super' human. He didn't need to breathe and he knew that somehow fundamentally his body was designed differently, especially when he was in the river. Even as himself, at home and lounging around he knew he was different, altered somehow by the choices he had made. Perhaps even more so then his friends.

Maybe that was just him though.

He blinked when the water suddenly went dark, focusing after a moment on the large solid body of a ferry coasting overhead. He watched as the engines pushed it forward, throwing his window to the world into even more garbled nonsense. The churning water made him sigh, a small stream of bubbles rocketing upward with the gesture.

His session with Master Fu had gone well, lasting about four hours before his master insisted he take a break. It had probably been obvious he was getting overwhelmed, something that frustrated him but he knew he couldn't just absorb everything in one go. He needed space to process the information, work through the details and commit them to memory. It wasn't like he could take notes really, Wayzz had insisted on him destroying his translation notes at home once he had them memorized. So the river was his place of calm, but even so he felt a heavy weight rooting him to the bottom.

This wasn't him…

Jade turned in the water, his sudden agitation demanding movement so he flipped over and started to idly swim upstream, thoughts conflicted. He caught sight of his gloves and looked away, seeing only the river and feeling little better.

He had started to adjust, pretty well honestly. He was able to reconcile 'Jade' as a part of him and his life but…

His mind swam with facts and dates, myths that were true and stories about people Fu had known that sounded like fairy tales. Magic and strength, connection and power. Yin and Yang, Cat and Lady.

Jade looked up, through the water and at the distant indistinct visage of the Parisian skyline. Even as his stomach twisted uncomfortably the sight of the city brought him some peace too.

They were just kids… he kept thinking that. Every time Fu discussed the power of creation and destruction, the absolutes of the higher stones… he pictured Adrien. He pictured his best friend sucking big time at Dig Dug and he pictured Marinette quietly doodling in the margins of her notes. When Fu handed him the book again as he was leaving Nino thought of how it was Friday. How normally he'd be dead asleep on the floor of his room with a controller cast away beside him. At what point had they not become those people anymore?

Jade felt something shift, not in the water or even the environment, it was internal. Not even in a poetic way, a literal slight crawl of energy that drew his attention.

' ** _May I say something?_** _'_

' _Wayzz?'_ he asked, his tone slightly chastising but it lacked any heart. He was actually a literal relieved. _'Were you listening again?'_

 ** _'Yes, and I have something I'd like to point out.'_**

Jade would have chuckled if he wasn't twenty feet underwater, swimming forward again and content to listen. _'Go for it.'_

 ** _'Do you think, fundamentally, being Ladybug and Cat Noir had anything to do with them falling in love? Or do you think it was something that would have happened anyways, spurred on by who they are as people?'_**

Jade said nothing, the pressing silence of the river acting as his answer.

 ** _'Being Ladybug and Cat Noir has become part of who they are, but it has not compromised who they are as individuals. I think at first this was true; it would not surprise me if it were the case. Marinette shared with you her fears, everything that made her uncertain as she accepted her new role. Adrien leapt to it gratefully, eager for freedom he had never been granted. In both of these ways, they changed because of the powers they were given. Marinette became what she hoped was a hero, and Adrien abandoned a life he had long since stopped loving in the hope of something new.'_**

Jade waited but Wayzz didn't continue, waiting for a response as the hero made his way upriver.

' _So, you're saying that I'm letting being Jade get to me?'_

 ** _'I'm saying they did the same thing. They came out of it, and so will you. If you let your burdens take from you who you are… well.'_** Wayzz stopped.

Jade could feel Wayzz's unease, the kwami's thoughts inaccessible but predictable. And even with all his fears Jade smiled.

 _'You're worried about me.'_

 ** _'You're important to me.'_**

Jade didn't respond, the words somehow echoing through him as he stopped and let himself be carried by the current of the river. The water surrounded and cradled him, but he was much more aware of the suit. It had become so natural that sometimes he forgot he even had it on, but he was aware of it outside of himself, understanding it as part of the other half that made this whole thing possible. The suit protected him, _Wayzz_ protected him even now.

' _You're important to me too Wayzz. I don't mean to freak you out, I'm just… stressed you know.'_

 ** _'I don't relish being a part of what causes you so much discomfort… but I know once you adjust-'_**

 _'Woah WOAH, what? You stop that right there whats that comment all about?'_

Wayzz didn't respond.

Jade waited but he had a feeling he wasn't going to be getting an answer, so in one motion he kicked off the bottom of the river and started paddling to the surface. He moved to climb out, intent on detransforming to lecture his kwami in person but he was already talking, too impatient to wait.

' _Wayzz I don't associate you with my stress or my crap at all. I signed up little man! I said yes,_ _ **you**_ _told me to wait! You were looking out for me the whole time, and you have been nonstop since I met you! I didn't realize you were taking all this personally man… me being stressed about being Jade has nothing to do with you!'_

 ** _'I know you're burdened-'_**

 _'Not by you! You're my friend! And like- you know w- hang on.'_

Jade stopped, looking around as he dripped water all over the sidewalk beside the Seine. People were staring, a couple snapping photos and waving but he was busy, smiling quickly but throwing his shield to the ground and climbing aboard.

He shot forward, cutting across the street and getting a few irritated honks as he vanished between the buildings, covering about a block before he zipped into an alleyway.

Nino released the transformation, pressing his back to the wall and catching Wayzz as he popped out into the air in a flurry of magic. The kwami looked a tad sheepish, landing in his charge's open palms but looking away from him.

"Wayzz," Nino said firmly, demanding to be looked at. He was amped, completely caught off guard by these sudden insecurities. He had always taken Wayzz to be this ancient, calm and incredibly wise creature. He could be funny and sweet but for the most part he was this quiet completely self-assured voice that helped him every day. It had never even occurred to him that… "Buddy? Look at me please."

Nino waited, watching with a breaking heart as Wayzz looked up at him unsurely. The totally on top of it all powerful god… thought that Nino regretted him.

"Wayzz," he said intensely, desperate to make himself clear in the dark dusty air of the alleyway. "Being Jade is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."

"What?" Wayzz said softly, confusion crossing his features and Nino's heart ached again.

"I- I know I complain, I freak out and I- I didn't realize all the stuff I was saying bothered you so much… none of that has to do with you. Or even being Jade… it's me man. _I_ freak out, I panic and think I'm not good enough. You're just so… important! You and the stone, and guardian training and Master Fu, these are **huge** things!" Nino was breathing fast now, unable to look at his kwami who was staring at him so intently, trying to understand him. Nino had to rewrite a hundred things Wayzz had assumed, he didn't know how. "You've been keeping me sane little man… me being stressed and overwhelmed… that's me. That's my bad, that's my own messed up self-worth crap… I've been so freaked out about doing everything right but… I wouldn't give this up." Nino looked back at his kwami, so much sincerity visible that Wayzz was taken aback. "If Master Fu gave me the chance to back down and give back the bracelet and run away I wouldn't do it!"

"But you've been so stressed, working yourself so hard… You keep talking about the way things were before, I just thought-," Wayzz tried to say, but suddenly Nino was shaking his head, barking out a strained laugh.

Nino kept laughing, but the sound wasn't joyful. It was shocked, guilty. Wayzz held his hands together uncertainly, always the one to offer advice but for the first time in a long time… he didn't know what to say.

After a few moments the laughter died, Nino's shoulders pulling in as he held Wayzz close to his chest. The kwami accepted the movement, laying his head against his charge. He could feel his heart beat, for a time the gentle pounding was all he heard.

"I was just venting…" Nino spoke wretchedly, all traces of the laughter gone. "I'm so worried about filling in the way I'm supposed to… acting like I was a second or third choice. Like I've got to prove myself…" He paused, his hands cupping around Wayzz a little tighter. "I get so busy freaking out about everything I'm meant to be doing… but Wayzz that doesn't mean I don't love it. That I don't love _you_."

Silence stretched, the sounds of the city reaching them distantly, as if they were happening a world away. After a time Nino sniffed, rubbing a thumb on the small grooved turtle shell resting on Wayzz's back.

"I didn't mean to make you think anything like that Wayzz… I talk all the time about so much negative crap that's only in my head… I keep forgetting to look at everything it's done for me."

Wayzz felt the absence of the heart beat before he realized he had been pulled away, faced suddenly with Nino's earnest gaze as he was held up. Nino was smiling gently, his eyes sad and… apologetic.

"It's natural for you to be stressed, "Wayzz tried to say, surprised when his own voice was… taunt. He was trying to placate him, but Nino was shaking his head again.

"I've got no excuse for hurting the guy whose been on my side since day one. I just never thought… I didn't think it was _possible_ for you to think I hated being Jade, that I regretted meeting you. You're in my head all the time, I just assumed…" he stopped, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. He was quiet for a little, and he could feel Wayzz watching him.

"It's my fault…" Nino finally said. "I was mucking crap up for myself just as much." He was quiet as he thought about something, smiling when he said, "Wasn't it you who said 'Letting yourself get carried away with poisonous thoughts is never good, even if they are never spoken aloud. That might even make them worse.'"

Wayzz blinked once before chuckling, looking down as he said, "Yes I did say that."

Nino smiled for a moment before sighing, saying, "I took a little while to get used to being Jade, it will take me a little while to get used to being the Guardian too. But as much as I've worried and studied and overthought everything please know… I'm so grateful to you man, for giving me this. You and Master Fu… you both thought I was a hero. And now you both think I can do this job…" Nino paused, pulling Wayzz forward to hold him against his neck, smiling when he felt Wayzz cling to him. "I keep dwelling and freaking out… I shouldn't have needed this kind of reminder to think about the good things too."

"So there are good things?" Wayzz asked quietly. "Before being assigned as the guardian… you had finally started to enjoy it. But then this happened and I was afraid…" Wayzz stopped, and Nino felt something horrible and cold settle in his stomach as Wayzz said, "I didn't want to be a part of something that was hurting you so much."

"Oh _Wayzz,"_ Nino said entirely on instinct, pulling the kwami back so they could look at each other again. "No man, no. Don't even think like that that's total bull. Of course there are good things man!" Nino shifted the kwami into one hand so he could gesture wildly with the other. "Are you kidding me?! I can freaking super suit up at any time! I can climb anything, I can punch bad guys through walls! I've got a crazy hover board shield; **I can do the water thing**. I mean come on!" Nino was laughing now, genuinely as he started to list things off. "I have the chance to help and protect people, I've got the opportunity to learn about the craziest unbelievable magic stuff in the world! I've got a freaking super power that can slow down anything I hit!"

"You got a date," Wayzz said with a laugh of his own, relief clear in his tone as he floated free of Nino's hold if only to give him more gesturing room.

"I got a date!" Nino repeated, one hand taking his hat so the other could run through his hair. "With a really amazing girl! That would not have happened without you, and nothing else either. Wayzz you gave me the chance to help people, and with this guardian thing I can keep protecting people for a really long time! Like super long! Like two hundred years!" Nino stopped, breathing heavily and momentarily overwhelmed as he ranted, flooded with every good thing all at once.

Nino looked to Wayzz floating freely in the air with a kind, ancient smile. The two friends watched each other for a time before Nino said, "There is good… there is so much good. I'm just so worried about getting it all right… I keep forgetting that." Nino sighed, before slowly he reached out his left hand to Wayzz, the bracelet's weight going unnoticed for the first time since he met Fu.

"You're my friend Wayzz, I owe you so much. You're important to me… so please, next time I'm hurting you like this, please tell me? Tell me so I can fix it, and… so I can remind myself to just chill out and relax every once in a while."

Wayzz looked to the extended hand, but in a sudden moment of emotion he ignored it, flying forward to Nino's face so he could hold him as best he could, the tiny turtle curled against his cheek.

"I love you young master," Wayzz said genuinely, "Don't let this hurt you… remember who you are. You're Nino, admirable and strong, goofy and fun. We have so much time… nothing needs to happen so quickly."

"I love you too Wayzz," Nino said earnestly, his voice husky as he tried not to cry. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," Wayzz answered. "Just be you, that is all I want."

Nino didn't speak for a while, enjoying the contact and pulling himself together. No one bothered them or intruded in the alleyway, the space feeling pulled away from the rest of Paris. No one knew they were there, and for the time they didn't know about anyone else either. They were just friends.

"Alright," Nino finally said, Wayzz pulling away and smiling at him. "I need to chill… I need to regroup and calm down about stuff, and we need to relax. Just us, bro time. No studying tonight, no homework, no Alya, no duo. I'm telling the others to cover my patrol, we're just going to… relax."

Wayzz grinned. "That sounds like exactly what you need."

"What _we_ need, we're a team. For the night I'm not going to worry about anything except my best bud."

Wayzz was stunned for a moment, before suddenly he laughed, zipping forward to land on Nino's hat and peer down at him upside down. "Your 'best bud'? Don't tell Adrien, he'll be heartbroken."

"He'll get over it," Nino said with a shrug, grinning too as Wayzz vanished into his hat, signaling without words that he was ready to go home. After spending just a moment more breathing deeply, making sure he was centered and calm, Nino stepped towards the entrance of the alley and out onto the street.

It was now firmly night, the street lights lining the sides of the street as traffic sped blindly by. Pedestrians chatted idly, a few dogs on leads as people went about their evenings. It was the perfect time for walking.

Even though Nino couldn't use his over ear headphones with Wayzz in his hat he couldn't help but recall a lot of what Wayzz had told him, about staying true to himself. So, after a moments consideration, Nino pulled out his phone. He didn't even look at the track, he just hit shuffle and turned up the volume, sticking his phone in his pocket before finally starting to walk again. And for the first time in a long time, Nino listened to music as he walked.


	18. Chapter 18

"Run, run!" Wayzz was shouting, desperation in his voice as he called out to his charge. He was trying to prevent the horrible fate he saw laid out before them but Nino stood strong, and in that moment though he faced almost certain death the young boy waited with power in his eyes.

"Heroes NEVER die!" Nino shouted out, his hands gripping the controller as he leaned forward over where Wayzz sat on the bed, the tiny turtle reaching up to cover his eyes with one flipper and his frog's with the other. Across the short distance of his room the wire of his controller draped over discarded blankets, soup bowls and soda cans before it connected below his T.V, it's face displaying arguably the most epic battle the earth had ever seen. Nino's character stood bravely facing the threat of the ultimate lifeform, surging forward with the galactic army at their heels to defend Terra Prime from those corrupt alien bastards, but in the end… his base speed stat just wasn't enough.

Nino groaned dramatically in defeat as his character was blown to smithereens, the screen glowing with a ruthless, blood red 'You Died' just to rub salt in the wound. On the bed in front of him Wayzz fell backwards onto his shell, letting Will hop away as he curled into the blankets.

"I told you you'd never make it!" Wayzz protested, looking up into Nino's face as his boy leaned over him. "You neglected your stats early on! You're paying for it now."

"Oh and how would you have spent the points wise guy?" Nino said with playful snark, unable to keep from grinning fondly at the kwami in its nest in the sheets. He only glanced away to reach out and lightly pick up Will before he hopped his way into some corner of his room.

"Well I would have put more into speed, for one," Wayzz said matter-of-factly, crossing his fins when Nino raised an eyebrow.

"Says the turtle."

"To another turtle," Wayzz shot back, smiling now as Nino rolled his eyes. "This game is so taxing, let's play the chicken one! That one is so much more pleasant, and much less complicated."

Nino laughed at that, tossing aside his controller and maneuvering his way around Wayzz before standing up and waltzing over to his consoles to shut off the game. He could see Wayzz floating off to return Will to the more contained safety of the turtle tank in his peripheral, the kwami himself taking the opportunity to go for a quick swim.

Nino hovered near the games, looking towards the game Wayzz had mentioned but hesitating to put it on. Blowing another few hours just eating crap and playing games with his best little buddy sounded really awesome, but then again so did some other things too. He watched as Wayzz swam happily in his tank, feeling such potent peace and happiness that it sort of stunned him.

Wayzz didn't look out of place in the slightest, finally freed from all of his doubt and worry. He crouched on the floating log in his tank before slipping off, twirling through the water and laughing out in little bubbles as he did. Nino wasn't sure what the expression on his face must have looked like, but when Wayzz suddenly met his gaze he was sure it was the same sort of elated fondness the kwami himself exuded.

There was always so much going on, so much that was confusing and scary. But they had each other, and they had their friends. Nothing could hold them down if they didn't let it.

Nino had just been forgetting that.

"Hey little man," Nino spoke up, turning from the T.V and striding across the mess they had made over to the tank, leaning over it to stare through the water at Wayzz laying on the bottom. "How do you feel about going for a run?"

Wayzz blinked for a moment, his image distorted with the gentle current they kept running through the tank but Nino could still see him smile. "Really?" he asked distantly, his voice almost inaudible through the water but Nino heard him still.

"Yeah, tonights all about relaxing. And sometimes just getting out and taking Paris by storm is a pretty chill way to do that, right?"

Wayzz watched him, his charges eyes still clear to him despite the barriers between them. The kwami didn't respond at first, his gaze shifting to the miraculous on Nino's wrist that rested on the edge of the tank, but instead of guilt or unease or anything else he had associated with it…

It just made him smile even more.

Wayzz pushed off the stony bottom of his tank, kicking his way to the surface so he could look Nino in the face as he proudly declared, "Nothing would make me happier my friend."

And Nino grinned back, before finally he said, "Then lets go."

* * *

Cat Noir stood a short distance away from the crowd, for now out of sight as he and his Lady waited for the ceremony to commence. To step out now would be to cause a commotion, everyone eagerly awaiting the man of the hour who, as it stood, they had no idea where to find.

Cat glanced over to Ladybug as she leaned against the alley wall, crossly tapping away on her yo-yo with an adorable pout on her face.

"He answer yet?" Cat asked needlessly, her posture already providing the answer but he felt compelled to anyways, looking back towards the crowd they hid from as they jostled for position on the bridge.

" _No_ ," she sighed harshly, flipping her phone closed and pushing away from the wall so she could pace irritably. "He _can't_ bail on this! The ceremony is for him!"

"You weren't there for ours," Cat pointed out with a smirk, his bravado dying instantly when she whirled to face him so he instead laughed nervously. "Because something came up, I get it. But maybe he's busy too?"

"He wasn't busy earlier!" she exclaimed, continuing to pace. "You know when I made the joke that he would run and hide in his room as soon as he got a statue I wasn't actually being serious."

That made Cat Noir snort, the boy significantly less agitated then she was. He simply shrugged, grinning to himself as he continued to watch the crowd. "You know I can't help but notice that his crowd is bigger than ours was. What's up with that?"

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" Ladybug asked with a sigh, ignoring his observation and watching as her boyfriend considered the options.

"Well," he remarked slowly, ticking off the places on his fingers as he named them. "Knowing him. He could very well be in the river _below_ the bridge silently panicking about the press. He could be in his room being lectured by Wayzz, he _might_ be suited up hiding on a roof somewhere but, most likely? I'd say he's with Alya."

Lady stopped dead, pausing for a moment before she walked over to Cat to lean past him, observing the crowd herself now.

"She's not with the press?"

"Nope," Cat said with a smile, not even needing to look to confirm what he had already checked. "The reporters are all up in the front to film us when we arrive, and I haven't seen her so much as in the spectators."

Lady only blinked once more before she sighed heavily in relief, Cat Noir looking surprised and raising an eyebrow at her to elaborate.

"Well, if she's with him then he's definitely going to show up. There is no way Alya would let him skip on this, she'd drag him here herself if she had too. We've got nothing to worry about."

Cat Noir laughed happily at that, letting his merriment devolve into a chuckle before saying, "God, when do you actually think he's going to tell us? I'm pretty sure he knows we're on to him, but he's ignoring it because he's stubborn like that. It's been like a month since that date of his, are they dating for sure now or what?"

Ladybug bit her lip, trying to remain detached as she said, "It's none of our business," however she seemed unsurprised by Cat's blatant shock.

"What are you talking about? It's totally our business! I'm just as invested in this as you are!"

"We can't interfere!" she insisted, though clearly her heart wasn't in it.

"All the shenanigans he pulled to get us together and we don't even get to know?" he protested, crossing his arms. "I'm his best friend! More than anything I just don't get why he hasn't."

"He's my friend too," she reminded him, crossing her arms as well. "And Alya is my best friend. You know how overwhelmed he can get, it's best to just let him take this at his own pace. I love her to death but she can be a handful, I don't blame him for taking baby steps." She hesitated, her thoughts drifting elsewhere before she said in a slightly more serious tone, "Plus, we both know he's got more on his plate then a date."

Cat Noir paused, meeting Ladybug's eyes before looking away again. They both considered her words in silence.

They didn't know a lot, actually to be more accurate they knew almost nothing but Nino had been up front about what he could, and Cat had to give him credit for that. They knew now that Nino had more responsibilities then he could share, and was meeting with Fu on a regular basis because of those responsibilities. However, the nature of those meetings and their purpose weren't something they could know about, and he had asked them to understand that.

It had been sort of jarring for the duo to be completely honest, to know that their friend had been keeping heavy secrets. He had to, and he had to continue doing it, but he seemed about as uncomfortable with it as they were which reassured them.

Their whole lives were caught up in secrets, it had been a comfort to them all to have people who knew what no one else did. In the end though, some secrets were secrets, even to each other. For the duo though it just made them feel a little more distant to have another thing he was keeping to himself, but they were trying to be understanding.

"Nino will tell us about everything when he's ready," Cat Noir eventually offered in place of the silence that had fallen over them both, the superhero shaking his head as if to clear it of doubts. When he looked up at his lady, he was smiling. "He's just a dork who doesn't know how to deal with feelings. To be completely honest I'm sure it's our fault. He probably thinks we'll embarrass him."

Ladybug took the ease of tension he offered, chuckling to herself as she shifted her hands to her hips. "Of course we will, it's what friends are for. The longer he stalls the worse we'll make it, I'm sure he knows that by now."

They looked at each other for a moment more before they both started to laugh, leaning into each other and enjoying each other's company as they continued to wait for their friend.

They continued to chat, speaking of other simpler things in quiet voices. Her parents had invited him to dinner, what should he bring? How were her projects going? How busy was he that week?

They let themselves be absorbed in each other as the crowd waiting over the Seine waited patiently, reporters jostling to take pictures of a veiled statue that stood in the middle with its back to the water. People in the crowd talked of their own simple things, whispering eagerly as the Mayor made his way to the front, knowing that everything would start soon. A girl with an apron from a pet shop patted dog fur from her legs, happily talking with the mother of a little boy and answering her questions. No no, turtles weren't hard to take care of, surely her little boy could handle one. Had he really been asking for one? That's so cute! To be like his hero? Oh my gosh, really, he was saved by- that's incredible! You must have been scared… Hehe well he's wanted a turtle since then? It's so funny, you'd be amazed how many people had adopted turtles since Jade appeared!

The conversations wound on, citizens from across the city trading stories of their heroes. How Cat Noir stopped a runaway bus, how Ladybug cleared a burning building and how Jade appeared as if from nowhere to evacuate a car that had driven into the river. They were so incredible, and so strong. Each person who had seen them all in action… well, they felt responsible for honoring them now. It was about time their Jade turtle had a statue of his own, and they waited in anticipation for him to arrive.

* * *

"Jade, you have absolutely _no excuse_ not to go to this!"

"There are reporters-"

"I AM a reporter."

"That's different, also, there are a _lot_ of reporters. All of whom are going to be entirely focused on me all expecting interviews."

"So what exactly is so new about that?"

"Alya _please,_ " Jade begged, reaching up to grab his hood and drag it over his eyes. He wasn't even sure what he was begging for exactly, he just was, sinking to the gravel coated rooftop that capped her apartment building.

Alya stood over him, completely unimpressed as he whined and sat on the floor, cowering in his hood like he was hoping it would hide him and slinking towards the shield he had discarded nearby. She sighed loudly almost entirely just so he would hear her, planting her hands on her hips and feeling the bulky weight of her phone that was going _unused_.

"This ceremony is for **you**! You have to go Jade."

He peeked up at her, and she was internally frustrated at how adorable it was, not that it would get him anywhere.

"Ladybug didn't go to hers."

"You think that means you can't?"

He groaned, looking down again before laying on his side and staring sullenly at Alya's shoes.

Alya sighed again, reaching up with one hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. After a second of infuriating silence she checked the time. They were absolutely going to be late.

Jade was staring at nothing when suddenly he became aware of Alya getting to her knees, crouching down in the space in front of him. She placed her hands firmly in the gravel on either side of her as she waited for him to look at her, her hair falling over her shoulders as she leaned forward slightly.

With her position he was forced to turn onto his back and suddenly he was staring directly up at her, her knees close to his head now as she stared down at him.

"Hey," she said simply, looking at how suddenly caught out he looked. His hood had fallen from his hair, the superhero looking directly up at her with his pure gold eyes.

"Hey," he answered, intent on looking away but failing to. She had him and she knew it.

"Why don't you want to go?" she asked him, knowing she had his complete attention and that she had tipped the scale in her favor. His hands were on his chest now and looked like he sort of felt exposed without his hood or shield.

He looked like he was going to try and look away again, but she kept his gaze as he tried to answer, taking a moment.

"It's weird…" he finally supplied, relieved when she looked away first and gave him a chance to breathe. She was looking at her phone, clearly eager to be on their way but trying to be patient with him. He appreciated that, he knew he was being lame.

"How so?" she prodded, looking back towards him to see him already looking at her face.

"It's so permanent… the statue," he explained, obviously struggling to express himself. He glanced away at nothing, and after a moment he sighed, dragging his hands up to cover his face. "It's weird," he continued, voice muffled slightly. "And intimidating. I'm expected to speak, what do I even say that I haven't already?" He let his hands fall, staring at nothing before finally he looked back at her. "It's awesome, of course it is. And it's over the river, which is appropriate but also still funny to me. I'm sure it's rad, the same guy is doing it but like- aah. Aaaah, you know?" He gestured at the air before repeating with an anxious expression, "Aah!"

Alya watched his mild panic before she snickered, shaking her head. She let him relax again before saying, "I know it makes you anxious but it would be good for you, and for Paris. I'm sure you'll handle it just fine Shelly you're worried for nothing. What's the real component here besides the press? That its permanent?"

She wasn't too surprised to see him sober up a little at that, his brow furrowed as he looked away. She tried to wait for him to speak on his own, but after a stretch of silence she reached out and put a hand on his arm.

"Are you worried you don't deserve it? Still?"

She asked it quietly, but her tone was disbelieving. It was the way she said it that made him look at her again, searching her expression and marveling at what he found there.

She really didn't understand how he could possibly be so unsure. Like it was ridiculous to even imply. Unreasonable even.

"It's not that… not exactly," he qualified, still thrown by how… pissed wasn't the right word. By how baffled she was. "It's just like… I am Jade Turtle, I am. He is me I'm him, that whole shebang, that's clear to me now. Jade is a part of me and a part that I'm proud of, I have more faith in myself, finally. It's not that I don't deserve it but…" he hesitated, trying to find the words. He was always so awful at words. "Even if it's earned, all the fanfare is weird for me. I don't know how to deal with it, I'd rather just do the good thing and get a thank you every once in a while. I don't need the statue. I know I'm a hero."

He trailed off, not really sure how to continue the thought.

Alya watched him, taking in the detail of his face and the way the mask fit there. After a moment she nodded. "That sounds like you."

He chuckled, shaking his own head. "It's embarrassing, but I guess it's also cool… I dunno."

"It's not just for you," Alya replied eventually, looking off into the distance as she thought through her words. "Obviously it is for you but, it's also so people can tell you they appreciate you. It's not just important that you hear it, it's important that they say it. It matters to the city to have some way to thank you for joining the fight, even if it does make you a little uncomfortable it would mean the most to everyone and you know it's meant well. They're doing it because you deserve it, and they want everyone to know it."

Jade looked up into her face for a little, and she was going to huff at him for brushing her off when he seemed to zone out but understood when he said, "Wayzz agrees with you."

Alya smirked, reaching out to pat Jade's bracelet as a thank you and the hero allowed it, knowing she wasn't going to take it off or anything.

"He says you look nice today," Jade relayed, smiling when Alya giggled.

"Did he really?"

"Well I'm sure he would. He talks into my head sort of so it's hard sometimes to tell him saying something apart from what I'm thinking."

Alya's eye widened and she giggled again as she playfully hit his arm, rolling her eyes as he continued to smirk. They both failed to say anything after that, just sitting together (well she was sitting). Jade lifted his arms to lay behind his head, taking a deep breath before he finally said "We should probably go."

"Yes," she agreed, standing up quickly. "We're really going to be late now."

"Well technically it can't happen till I'm there so how late can I be?" he argued, sitting up himself as Alya wandered off to pick up his shield. He stood up to brush gravel off of him, focused on stalling at first so he missed how she stood a short distance away, looking at him over the shield she held in her arms.

When he looked up and caught her staring he smirked, expecting her to roll her eyes again but she didn't look away, just stood there with the faintest smile.

"What?" he finally questioned, walking over to her slowly.

"Mm," was all she replied, letting him approach until he stood right in front of her. She tilted her head slightly, forced to look up thanks to their height difference. She noted the way his hood was barely on, his hair tousled and his smile genuine.

"Come on, what?" he asked again, laughing a little this time as he reached out to casually put his arms around her waist, only to find that his shield was in his way a little. He looked towards it and tried to be equally as casual as he forced it to shrink in size, almost slipping from Alya's grasp in the process. She smirked at his not so smooth attempt to hold her, but stepped forward anyways and let him settle around her. She waited until she felt his chin rest in her hair before speaking.

"I think it's cool," she said simply, her arms circling around his waist and fastening his shield to his back. "That you can have a literal statue of you placed in the city yet still be so humble about it. Your name is carved in stone and you're revered as a hero," she turned her head, placing her ear to his chest in a now familiar gesture between them. "You never cease to impress me."

She listened to his heart skip, and she knew he could feel her smiling against his chest as it's pace only worsened.

He was warm.

"W-well good," he finally stammered out, powering through her snickers. "You're the only person worth impressing anyhow."

She giggled again, letting the two of them be close for a moment. They really did need to go, and it was the middle of the day. They were usually more careful then this, but it was a little different that day.

He had been about to make another attempt at flattery when she started to pull away. He had meant to say something sort of quietly in her ear in a way he was hoping would fluster her (and probably himself in the process). She had intended to step away, a playful smile on her face as she told him to stop goofing around and take them to the event already, looking up to compensate for the height. But what they ended up with was the both of their faces less than an inch apart, staring at each other stunned at the sudden unexpected proximity.

Jade stared at her, so close he could see even the slightest smudge on her glasses and the way she seemed so unprepared. She was always on top of it, but sometimes, very rarely, he would stun her. Now was one of those times, but he was just as caught out.

Holding her had been… intimate, yes, but it also… it wasn't exactly that. It was familiar, it was comfortable, though not entirely casual. It just, it hadn't thrown him as much as this. They had done it ever since the first night, where they were so close and it felt so natural. In a way this felt natural too, but he really had… just no idea-

Had it been a second? Or maybe two, where they hovered in that space. They didn't look away, nor did they retreat, and neither of them could decide if they were waiting for the other to make a move. Because it was clear to them both what the next move would be.

Did he want that? Did she? Were they hesitating because they were afraid?

She was so close to him in a million ways at once, and he was so entirely unprepared. And though he couldn't quite say she didn't want… or that he… because of _course_ he did. Oh god _of course_ he did. He just didn't know if they… if now…

He didn't know, he didn't know when the right time was. He had thought about it a million times, it crossed his mind every time he saw her and it only got worse every time he ran off to find her. But when? When do you just… go for it? What right time was there really?

What was he waiting for?

"Alya-," he tried to say, her name heavy in his throat. She watched him intently, and he could almost feel like she was _hoping_. But he didn't know, he couldn't know. So he tried to ask. But then his phone rang.

Of course it did, _of course it rang._

Because it was **such a good time**.

They both jolted when it went off, Jade's eyes sliding closed as he groaned in frustration. Alya felt so suddenly warm as she was ripped out of the moment, however she still managed to laugh breathlessly when he laid his forehead against hers in exasperation. Once she started giggling she couldn't stop, everything about his posture so _pissed_ to have been interrupted that it just, it was honestly so funny.

"I hate them," he grumbled over her shoulder, moving so he could check his miraculous behind her back and only growing warmer in the face as she leaned into his chest to laugh hysterically. "Literally nothing is important enough to have called me over just then."

She tried to speak but couldn't get the words out as he sourly tapped out a reply, suddenly so irritable and flustered that she couldn't keep it together.

"Well I'm glad you're entertained," he huffed, trying to pout at her for laughing through their lost moment but unable to keep grimacing when he saw her face. She pulled back and tried to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but when she saw him sigh at the relatively innocent action she lost it again, snorting and holding her stomach.

He was so _peeved_ , it was just- **so adorable**.

"Okay," he finally announced, grabbing his shield and tossing it down before sweeping up the still giggling reporter. "We're going, we're gone."

"No! No wait!" she tried but he wasn't listening, stepping towards his shield and attempting to keep a sour smirk from his face as he chastised her.

"No clearly you weren't that invested it's fine, I get it," he said sarcastically, still pouting. She kept trying to stop him but he was determined to be gone, when suddenly, all at once, he felt her grab his face.

And she kissed him.

She was pulling herself forward and his face towards her, sitting up in his arms as he held her. She had intended it as a peck, just something to catch him off guard, but as soon as they connected… it wasn't just something playful. It was something powerful too.

He shifted his hold, leaning into her as the moment stretched on, and she found her heart racing. There were so many little things that changed the kiss. How he held her, how he pressed against her so slowly that it was as if he was waiting for her to stop him… and she didn't. Her hands had lingered on his face, the fingers softening. And there was a moment too, where they seemed so out of breath, and his lips had parted against hers.

And then he kissed her again. And she let him, her hands traveling to his hair and his hood falling back completely. It was the smallest motions of engagement, the silent approvals to continue that pushed that moment so far.

Alya had imagined her first kiss a hundred times. But it felt like a first kiss… and it felt like the hundredth kiss. It was startling and overwhelming… but it was natural. It was magnetic, and it was…

Powerful, in a way she hadn't expected it to be.

When they finally pulled apart they were both breathless, staring at the each other stunned at what had been so much more than they thought it would be. He looked down at her and didn't know what to say, and neither did she. So he settled for, "Woah…"

He was about as warm in the face as she was, but he was a little warmer still when she giggled, letting her hands fall away as they both tried to pull themselves together. He was kicking himself internally for something so unimpressive after something so… incredible, but he had no other words.

"That's one way to put it," she agreed, her voice slightly flustered but containing traces of that same sort of teasing.

"Yeah," he replied, still wildly out of his depths as she giggled again. He held her still, having utterly lost his place in time so it was somewhat of a relief when she smiled slightly and pointed towards his shield.

"We were- uh…"

"Right," he cut in, finally managing to look away from her and attempting to remember what it was he was supposed to be doing. All he could focus on was her. "Yes we, we were uh…" he looked back towards her, relying on her completely. "We were what?"

"We were going to the statue ceremony," she supplied, giggling again girlishly as he nodded and unsteadily stepped onto his shield.

"Yes," he agreed, wondering how his body temperature wasn't burning her at this point. "Right, super stuff."

"You should probably drop me off about a block away," she said, partially trying to distract herself from how close they both were still.

He started moving, extremely distracted but still managing to ask "Huh? Why?"

"Uh, because you're a superhero?" she laughed, raising an eyebrow at him when he looked down at her. "Superheroes can't just bring their girlfriends to things without people catching on you know."

"Girlfriend?" he repeated instantly, and his mental state wasn't aided much when she was forced to cling to him when he botched a turn. He wasn't paying attention to driving at all, but she luckily seemed just as distracted. "Yeah?" he spoke again when she remained silent, looking down as often as he could to see her smiling nervously into her hands.

"Well… yeah obviously. I mean, if you-," she stammered, looking up in surprise when he started to laugh.

"What, if I want?" he finished for her, unable to keep from laughing now as he beamed at her. "Do you seriously think I don't want that?"

"Well- I-" she tried, completely unsure of how to respond when he laughed again, leaping effortlessly now from one building to the next. He was grinning like a fool now, and it was flustering her even more than the kiss had.

"You're right of course," he finally said, so much unchecked joy in his voice that it made her start to laugh as well as he continued. "Can't just parade my girlfriend around, regardless of how much she deserves it and how much I want to. Have to be sensible about these things, have to be careful. I'm responsible like that, I'm a very responsible boyfriend."

She snickered, leaning into him as she smiled just as brightly as he did, attempting to tease him still but failing to nail her usual tone of voice as she said, "Are you going to try and work it into every sentence now?"

"What that you're my girlfriend?" he replied, smirking at her as she giggled again. "I dunno, probably. Just warning you."

Her laugh rang out as they continued to zip through the city, Jade cradling her close as he did his best to keep out of sight. They giggled and smiled so helplessly the whole way there, the trip painfully short when he finally stopped behind a building a street away.

Jade stopped to set her down, still keeping her close as he kept on smiling. He looked over his shoulder mostly for show, only having stopped because he knew they were alone but was careful just in case. And he waited until she fixed and fussed over her windblown hair before he kissed her again, holding her for the one last moment they could justify for the time being.

"I've got a thing to do," he said as he pulled away, "but can I see you after?"

"Yes, and I'll be in the front row. Don't be nervous," she added just as it looked like he was about to leave. "You've got this."

He started to back away, already grabbing his shield as he grinned. "I am now dating the most beautiful girl in the city, like a _speech_ can knock me off the top of the world. _Yeah right_ , not even Hawkmoth could put a dent in my day right now."

Alya paused before huffing again, shaking her head at how lame he was but couldn't keep her happiness from her face, even as he winked and waved goodbye. And not even still when he called out, 'see you later babe!' and skated away like some outdated dude bro ninja turtle. But even if he was just the _biggest_ dork in the city… she couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Cat Noir and Ladybug were standing to the left of Jade when the ceremony began, all of them standing patiently beside the statue that was waiting to be unveiled. Even as the Mayor droned on, holding out his arms dramatically and speaking about the fine city of Paris and those sworn to protect it, Cat Noir couldn't keep from watching his friend. The statue hadn't even been shown yet and Jade looked… so impossibly happy. He was just standing there, looking to all the world like he was trying not to do backflips where he stood. It didn't make any sense at all, Cat had been positive Jade was dreading this thing for days… but it didn't take long for him to catch his friend looking at a very particular reporter in the front row.

To Jade's credit he really did seem like he was trying to tone it down, and he was definitely putting effort into not looking at Alya but Ladybug and Cat Noir had the added advantage of expecting something between the two of them. But the one look they traded all but confirmed it and Cat glanced to the side at his lady, grinning happily. Lady noticed too and gave him a quick 'I totally saw that too' look before they both refocused, all three heroes attempting to be professional and failing a little.

Of course Adrien was going to track Nino down like a bloodhound after this to find out what was up, because screw being patient if his friend looked ready to burst from joy, which meant he had been late for a reason and the reason was awesome. Nino looked so happy he was almost positive he would share, but everyone was forced to wait their turns as the ceremony kicked into its final phase.

The three heroes of Paris turned towards the pedestal that waited to be shown, the mayor stepping aside to gesture for the artist to uncover his work for himself.

Jade waited patiently, looking at the artist who eagerly awaited his reaction and forced himself to be in the moment. Arguably weeks if not months of work likely went into this, and to not pay it his full respect even in the face of such sudden developments wouldn't be fair. This moment was important too, even if he was distracted with other things.

With one final look of anticipation the artist reached up and firmly gripped the sheet, pulling it free with a powerful flourish as the crowd gasped and a hundred cameras flashed at once.

The statue itself was masterfully made, a heavy bronze creation just like Lady's and Cat's. It depicted a hero, strong and tall with his shield on his arm looking out over the river and into the city, a perfectly casted replica of the boy who stood beside it.

There were a hundred things going on for Jade Turtle, just as it always seemed to be the case, but even so… he was stunned. People cheered and the artist watched him closely, cameras now turning to him to gauge his reaction. What they saw was a hero who gaped in awe, before he finally smiled, bowing his head as if suddenly humbled. The crowd hummed and murmured at such an honest reaction, reporters already scrambling for the newest headlines. "Hero of the People humbled in the face of Great Honor." "Jade Turtle Overwhelmed at Statue Unveiling," and any number of other things. Though he had no way of knowing it just then, one reporter was settling on a title for her own blog as well, stating simply, "An Honor Deserved."

The next few moments were a blur of cameras and cheers, Jade taking the time to step aside and thank the artist himself while Ladybug and Cat Noir stayed respectfully to the side. It wasn't long however before he realized people were waiting for him to speak, so he stepped forward to the raised platform before the statue.

He had never been a man of words, he struggled often to express himself and what he thought. However, in the moment there seemed to be not just that one second, but every second that led to it. An accumulation of a thousand things said and a hundred actions already done, and somehow too all the things he had yet to do.

He had been so unsure of what to say, but as he looked out and felt so potently the thousands of things that had led to that moment… the words were not hard to find.

"It is a great honor to have something like this, something that even a year ago I honestly never could have expected," he began, speaking firmly and loud enough to heard across the gathered crowd. He noticed a little boy with a small green mask, a beautiful reporter, and a short distance away… an old man with the kindest smile. "It is, in a way, overwhelming. I wasn't sure how I would be received when I arrived, and have been so happy to find myself welcomed as a hero. Ladybug and Cat Noir," he said as he gestured to them, turning to look at them and seeing the pride in their faces as he continued. "They are some of the kindest and bravest people I have ever known, and I'm speak honestly when I say that I don't know what I'd do without them. They guided me when I was unsure and helped me get adjusted when I felt like this is something I could have never deserved." He looked back at the statue and fell silent for a moment, before he looked back into the crowd. "I admit; I am not always sure that I do. But to have those I am fighting to protect call me their hero makes me proud to stand here, and proud to call Paris my home." He paused, taking a deep breath as he looked around him. There were so many that were proud of him just then… so many people who had helped carry him so far.

Adrien, his best friend and constant ally. Marinette, who so suddenly brought him into a whole other world and became so much closer to him as a result. The kwami who was always a kind and gentle voice of reason, and the man who became his cherished mentor.

And now too, a passionate and unstoppable reporter who smiled at him as he stood there, overwhelmed by everything he saw in the faces of those who loved him.

He closed his eyes for a moment, standing before his statue and in front of a waiting crowd as he slowly gathered his thoughts. And finally, when he found the right words, he spoke again.

"I am proud to be Jade Turtle, and to be your hero. I swear I will never stop trying to deserve all the kindness and support I have found here, and that I will always act to protect those who feel threatened. I will fight and guard and serve as I have promised too. And I know now, there is nothing I would rather do."

With that he fell quiet, stepping back and bowing his head as the crowd erupted into cheers, and though he could not see them in the swarm that consumed him, he knew they were there.

Cat Noir and Ladybug watched him from their places by the statue, no one paying them any mind for the time being and allowing them a moment alone. What they felt was hard to describe as their friend was hailed for what he really was, and for what all who knew him always knew he had been.

They watched with pride as a hero was celebrated by those he protected.

There was so much more he had done that no one would ever know, and so much more he would do still without ever once seeking credit. There would come a hundred battles, a hundred trying moments, and he would rise to meet every single one. There would come a thousand voices crying out, and there would always be their heroes to answer them. And when all was said and done… and the dust from war would settle…

There would be a boy and a girl, walking through the city with their hands intertwined, and there would be a boy, with a bright red cap. Walking quietly away with a smile on his face.


End file.
